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Archive for July, 2010

Bar Design

Saturday, July 31st, 2010

I wouldn’t exactly say that I am a student of bar room design, but I have certainly been in my share of bars, taverns, and pubs. I have even operated one for a little while, and I know how much having the right look matters. Bar design is crucial. It means different things to different people, however. When most people hear phrase like bar interior design, they picture some yuppie bar serving 12 dollar cocktails in Manhattan. It is true that these bars put a lot of thought into design, but they are not the only ones. Even your back alley dive has a really intentional look to it. After all, people go to a bar to be comfortable. They want to feel free to relax with their friends, have some drinks, and cut loose. Some bars are designed to support a certain single scenes, with decor that makes people feel amorous. In other bars, you are just there to drink. You probably very rarely think about it, but barroom design is almost always intentional.

The bar design feel is first set up before you even enter inside. The bar signs cue you in. Next time you are walking by a bar, think about what you see. Do you see beer signs in the window? Do you see flashing lights, neon signs, or a simple marquee with old-style lettering? All these bar design ideas give you some clue about what place you’re about to enter.

An Irish bar, for example, is likely to have a simple looking, unpretentious bar sign above it. It might have neon signs for various beers in the window, and then again it might not. It will set you up for a wood-paneled, earthy bar design. If you are talking about a more stylish, upscale kind of place, you will have different bar designs altogether. You might have very modern looking lettering, sparse, angular, and difficult to read. Then again, you might have an ironic weathered it look to the whole place.

Coffee Espresso Maker

Saturday, July 31st, 2010

There are definitely different levels when it comes to the modern coffee espresso maker or machine. What you need to ask yourself is, what kind of coffee beverages do you enjoy, and how much are you willing to spend? Thirty years ago, no one would have ever guessed that the coffee industry would be so huge. Sure, for centuries now, countless men and women have enjoyed a variety of coffee beans and blends. At this point there are hundreds of coffee espresso makers available from various dealers online and in stores. However, not all of them function the same.

Brand names like Krups, DeLonghi, and Mr. Coffee offer a good selection of drip pot machines, espresso makers, and even frappuccino machines these days. Pretty much any type of java beverage you can think up can prepared in the privacy of your own home at this point. Then again, you tend to get what you pay for. Although there are coffee espresso makers for as low as $50, you cannot expect a lot from these low-priced machines. Most of them typically have the ability to make espresso and froth milk. However, it can be a slight process, and the espresso shots they create are not comparable to a local coffee house that uses a commercial grade machine. Read more Here.

Finding the Best Coffee Bean

Saturday, July 31st, 2010

If you sit around half the morning sipping on a cup of coffee, you are definitely a coffee lover and you will truly enjoy this article about the best coffee bean.

You are probably asking if there is such a thing and where do I find it, right? Read on!!!

Creating sensible, easy-to-stick-with food diets – ones that work for you!

Friday, July 30th, 2010

With food costs rising around the world and economies in turmoil, it still remains a fact that many Americans struggle with their weight on an ongoing basis. Losing weight has become such a commonplace goal that we now have a bevy of food diets from an array of ‘experts’, typically with a low-carb, low-fat or just plain starvation-style diet, promoted as the only real way to lose unwanted pounds. Well, here we’ve got a refreshing new approach to food diets: one you construct yourself, consisting of nutritious foods you enjoy eating which also get you where you want to go. Sound good? Let’s see how you can put this no-nonsense, but tasty approach to work for you.

If you were to make a list of all your favorite foods, you’d find that, while chips and dip and chocolate may first come to mind, there are plenty of healthy foods which are worthy of inclusion in food diets designed to lose weight. For example, you may not be big on veggies, but you love avocados, carrots, lettuce and artichokes. These veggies are packed with nutritive value, while being relatively skimpy on the calories. Give these beloved veggies a starring role in your menus. You’ll enjoy what you’re eating, feel happy, pampered and satisfied and still achieve your goal of weight loss. Do the same with your list of meats, poultry and seafood. If you enjoy chicken, custom food diets are a snap! Chicken is on the menus of almost every cuisine in the world. Find new ways to prepare this economical and lean meat. Think about fruit-based recipes – who doesn’t like a fruit smoothie of their favorite fruits? The smoothie makes an excellent breakfast, mid-afternoon snack or dessert. Make your smoothie with yogurt or low-fat milk to keep those calories in line.

Speaking of beverages, if you’re a coffee-with-sugar hound, try sweetening your coffee with Splenda(R) – this product tastes just like sugar, without the calories. The same goes for sodas – there are now several major soda brands made with Splenda(R) too. You also might find it useful to insert a few new fruit juices into your beverage lineup. Chilled Chai tea, with a tad of milk is another delicious alternative. Varying the types of foods and beverages within your usual food choices goes a long way towards relieving dietary boredom.

Condiments and seasonings are just one of the secrets of successful food diets. Herbs and spices can really put some zip into an otherwise bland recipe. One tomato, cut into wedges or slices, may not seem an exciting menu choice – that is, until you make this into a small salad plate adorned with snips of fresh basil leaves and a few slices of fresh (naturally low-fat) mozzarella cheese. If carrots rank high on your list, try a dish of cooked, sliced carrots in a sauce of orange juice laced with ginger for a real taste treat. Bring the orange juice to a simmer, add a touch of cornstarch to thicken and some powdered ginger. When the sauce is thickened, return the cooked carrots to the pot, stir and serve.

Produce is fast becoming a ‘luxury’ food, due to cost. However, this doesn’t mean that food diets should be geared to less of these nutritious foods. Choose the best and freshest produce you can find. Use your best-loved fruits and veggies list to cruise the net in search of new recipes to use these favorites. Then, don’t let them go to waste! If you find you bought too much, remember that many fruits and veggies can be blanched and frozen for future use.

When you consider that we eat not only to allay our hunger, but to also please our palate, it makes sense that variety, food quality and seasonal produce are smart criteria on which to base food diets.

The last of our tips on constructing food diets concerns food portion sizes. The majority of the trendy food programs rely on small portions. When your dinner plate has too much ‘white space’, the psychological effect is that you ultimately feel deprived. Here’s a great trick to using small food portions that are still, at the end of the meal, satisfying. Start serving each course on a separate plate. For example, you might begin with a small fruit cup with a flavored yogurt as the ‘sauce’. Take the time to enjoy this course, as well as the table conversation. Don’t rush through it! Your next course might be your meat and a side of veggies, seasoned in an interesting way. This technique also gives your tummy a chance to catch up with your eyes.

Now, what about that dessert? Taking the time to savor your food, with a few minutes between courses might find your tummy full and happy, not in need of the conventional sugar-laden dessert. If you do crave a finisher to your meal, try a small, fresh fruit and cheese plate. Again, quality counts, but you don’t need much to refresh and satiate your palate.

In the end, custom food diets such as this tend to work for you – the unique individual. Give this method a try and see those pounds disappear!

The author has been writing articles online for 4 years now. Come visit his latest site Info Prodigy that discusses Info Prodigy review by Tim Godfrey & Steven Clayton.

Benefits of Eating Chocolate Covered Potato Chips

Thursday, July 29th, 2010

Why not surprise your family with a new snack this weekend that will make make everyone happy? Give them some chocolate covered potato chips and watch everyone start grabbing and crunching.

Sit back and enjoy eating chocolate covered potato chips while watching a movie or playing a game with the kids. You’ll find there’s nothing like the taste of this unique snack.

An Effective Way to up the Asking Price of Your House

Wednesday, July 28th, 2010

Refitting your kitchen is a simple and yet practical way of making your house a more comfortable place. You needn’t entirely redecorate the place to gain this result either. Just selecting a couple of new appliances, for example, dishwashers and a wine fridge, you can give your home a fresh look.

Despite their unchanging look, fridges have been subjected to a large amount of technical advances in the last few decades. Today, you can choose fridges with a freezer on the bottom, customizable shelving, full humidity control, side-by-sides, ice machines, and many extras that make our life easier and less stressful.

The new fashion in refrigerators is to place them where they can’t be easily seen. Cabinet fronts are occasionally added to a refrigerator to effectively disguise them. Some will have cubbyholes and other extras to ensure you can easily put your food. Dishwashers can also come in a drawer design and can display a cupboard front to keep them hidden. And here’s good news for the eco-friendly. Rather than use heat, the new trend is dishwashers which leverage a dehumidifying process which consumes a smaller amount of electricity and needs less time, too. There is nothing that restricts you to only the one dishwasher. In a couple of cases a single isn’t big enough and a second one has been put in the counter top. They’re ideal for those that do a lot of cooking. If you like keeping crockery away from your priciest china then this is certainly the thing to do.

A fast glance over a magazine or two should provide you with some inspiration for the cabinets too. Cabinets that may have been loved by your grandparents have made a powerful come back. Current fashions favor cherry instead of oak with home owners. Maple is also quite trendy when it comes to homeowners now. Simply getting rid of a few old appliances such as a bar fridge will make your kitchen seem like an entirely different room. Furthermore might even want TVs set up. You’re really only limited by your wallet. So you, too, can enjoy that dream kitchen for the asking.

A Built in Grill Can Be the Centerpiece of Your Outdoor Kitchen Island

Wednesday, July 28th, 2010

What’s your idea of the perfect backyard kitchen island? While planning outdoor kitchen islands the very first thing you’ll want to give thought to is just what cooking food out-of-doors suggests for you. This could be just using the bbq to cook hamburgers for a family weekend get-together – or you might envision a full scale luxurious dining and cooking area where you can wholly prepare and cook food for a social gathering. For the luxury model you can incorporate almost everything that you could have within the indoor kitchen, but outdoors; not forgetting the outdoor kitchen island refrigerator and bar.

More Articles On Outdoor Island Kitchens

Know About Traditional Grills

Monday, July 26th, 2010

Today we can see electric grills, gas grills and wood burning grills available in the market. Electric grills are already gained more popularity and become a best choice for everyone. People generally keep gas grill as a support with electric grills in the case of electricity interruptions. Here, some people still consider smoke and heat as mandatory for real barbequing. For this wood-burning barbequing is the only choice. Importantly, for large quantities of meat and beef definitely demand a wood-burning barbequing over the electric grills and gas grills.

Today these wood-burning barbequing can be seen available in different sizes and shapes. These are the best choice for commercial barbequing. Gas and electric grills are suitable for parties and homes. These bigger wood grills come with pulley system to raise and lower the barbeque surface. These wood grills are available in small sizes to for the residential and party purpose. These are best choice for traditional barbequing.

Warm Up Your Kitchen With Antique White Cabinets

Friday, July 23rd, 2010

Antique white cabinets can fit into both an all antique white kitchen, or a colorful kitchen with accent colors. antique white kitchen cabinets will reflect light and give your kitchen a fresh clean look. Antique white kitchen cabinets go with any color of floor including ceramic tiles, vinyl, hardwood and marble. You can use your imagination and use bold color and accents or if you prefer light pastel shades

Read more About Antique White Kitchen Cabinets

Grill the Steaks and Barbeque the Ribs

Thursday, July 22nd, 2010

When do you fire up the BBQ? Anytime you can get to the grill! Have two feet of snow on your deck (like we did the previous winter ? Prepare your meat and vegies, shovel a path to the cooker, fire it up, slap on the meat and enjoy! Nothing like grilled steaks when it’s 10 below, right? If you live on the surface of the sun (e.g: Arizona) and never have the snow you’ll never have any excuses not to fire that BBQ up at any time of year.

Now, there’s the slow cooking barbecue and there’s the much faster grilling. Barbecue uses indirect heat, much like your oven on a low setting, while grilling uses more charcoal and whatever you’re cooking is placed right above them. Like a broiler. The BBQ might take 3 or four hours to finish, while you can grill steaks in 10-15 minutes.

By and large you’ll be barbecuing the tougher cuts, ribs, or meats that may have some gristle or connective tissue. The slow, long heat will break that down and the meat will be totally delectable. Do that with a fish or a good steak, and, well, it won’t be pretty. So grill your steaks & fish and barbecue your baby back ribs.

Speaking of steaks, here’s what you’ll need to grill a couple of rib eye steaks (and here’s the video on how to bbq a ribeye steak.)

1. 2 nice steaks, a pound or so each
2. 1 medium sweet onion, sliced
3. some diced celery and scallions
4. garlic clove
5. butter
6. charcoal and your grill/weber
7. cast iron skillet

Make a pile of coals on one side of the lower grill and fire them up. Since you’ll be grilling these cuts you’ll want a lot of heat, so make a largish pile, but you won’t cover the lower grill with them, keep them to one side. Once the coals are hot put the steaks on the grill. The heat should be enough that you can hear those steaks sizzle. After a minute or so flip the steaks. There should be some nice grill lines on the meat. (You’ll be searing in the flavor and juices by doing this.)

Once seared, move the steaks away from the direct heat. Now place your skillet over the charcoal and add the sliced onions and some butter. Saute the onions until they’re just they way you like them and then set them aside. Keep the steaks on the “cool” side of the grill and close up the grill. Open it up and turn the steaks over every couple of minutes until nearly done (and done is the way you like it.)

When the steaks are almost ready put the skillet back on and add the celery, the scallions, and some butter. While that mix sizzles take the clove of garlic, mash it up, and add it to the mix. Move the mix out of the way and put the steaks in the skillet and put the mix on top of the steaks. Add the onions, too. Cook for a minute or so, then serve it all up.

As for real barbecue, which takes a lot longer, take a look at this video which will show you how to make perfect barbecue pork ribs. Now, the real question is this: can you wait three to four hours to eat the ribs while that wonderful barbecue scent drifts through the air? It’s tough, but be strong. The finished BBQ ribs will be worth the wait.

“Organic”, “All-Natural” – Do these Labels acctually mean Healthy Food to You?

Tuesday, July 20th, 2010

All you want is simple healthy food; you don’t know what goes into the stuff they serve at restaurants, and so, you feel that nothing can quite compare to the honest and simple fare you can rustle up right in your kitchen. So you head down to the portals of your trusted local supermarket, and you look for the cuts that you trust – hopefully, you’ll find chicken that’s free range, naturally raised beef and hygienically butchered healthy meat in general. You do see plenty of reassuring labels on all the packages all around the butcher’s brightly-lit glass case, but there is a little voice at the back of your mind that wonders if these labels really do mean what they seem to mean. Well, you would do well to trust that healthy skepticism your mind is capable of; for as we are about to see, most of the time, those labels usually mean nothing wholesome at all.

Let’s start with an old favorite – free range chicken. What exactly is it that you believe free range chicken is when you see those neat packages at the supermarket? Plump healthy birds roaming the plains, pecking at a delicious worm here and a little grain there? Well, yes and no. The Department of Agriculture is the authority that looks at each manufacturer’s practices, and decides on whether or not to award a free range cerificate. According to their standards, a free range chicken has to be allowed to be outdoors more than 50% of their lives. But the department is quite flexible on what “the outdoors” can actually end up meaning. It could mean the wonderful open bucolic setting you imagine, or it could mean a cage that’s 3 feet wide as opposed to the normal 15 inches of the battery farm. Just going down and getting a few ingredients for a home-cooked healthy food can turn out to be quite a study in hairsplitting.

Now the term free range is important not just for the amount of personal space you imagine each chicken gets; free range in your mind, is important also for the way it seems to suggest a certain dignity that goes into the process of bringing food to the table. You imagine that the bird is brought up “organically”, that it is brought up in the country in a way that is not “artificial”. These are some of the most misused terms in the food industry though, and so much could go wrong in any attempt you make to interpret what they might mean just by the sound of them. People are typically so concerned about bringing home healthy food that they will gladly pay twice for “organic” chicken. And the poultry industry sees no problem with exploiting this market with trickily-labeled meat. The first step there would be to get the USDA’s approval for the use of the term organic on their packaging. If your chicken package doesn’t bear the certification stamps – the USDAs Organic seal, and the seal of the Secretary of Agriculture, you can be pretty sure that your chicken never saw any greenery, any open sky or any organic feed.

Okay, how about the other certifications we tend to look for and make our purchase decisions by – “No growth stimulants or added hormones”, and “All natural- minimally processed/no artificial ingredients”? Surely there is no way that any farmer could find a way around these declarations is there? Now two out of three beef cattle in the US are pumped full of growth hormones to make them grow bigger, faster. The USDA does approve of the hormones used; it says that when you eat beef raised on hormones, those hormones are not passed on to you. If that is so, how come the European Union has banned it? Europe believes that the hormones used in meat farming gets into our food, and harms our reproductive systems – people who are affected by these hormones typically have lower sperm counts and really early menarche. If you don’t see the specific declaration that no growth hormones were used, you are in trouble. The “All-natural” claim for instance doesn’t include a no-hormone assurance. The problem is, the USDA has no real rules for any of this; so the manufacturer can use this to mean whatever he wants it to mean. When it comes right down to it, there really are no guarantees for how healthy you food source is when everything comes from a massive industrial effort. Profits almost always trump any interest the manufacturer might have in really doing a meaningful job.

The author has been writing articles online for 4 years now. Come visit his latest site AffiloJetpack that discusses AffiloJetpack review by Mark Ling.

Simple and Healthy Fish Recipes for the Single Person

Monday, July 19th, 2010

Do you remember how when you were a kid, your mother told you to eat up your fish because it was brain food? Fish is one of the healthiest foods you can eat, and there are no end of wonderful things to say for it – it cooks very quickly, it’s easy to digest, and the nutrients it can give you are just miraculous. But there are lots of people who stay clear of bringing fish into the kitchen; no matter how hard they try, they feel fish either turns into a strip of cardboard or into a formless mess. But it doesn’t have to be this way though. With the right kind of handholding, almost anyone can learn to flip, poach, sauté, braise or grill a great fish. Let’s look at two great healthy fish recipes, and start from scratch.

From scratch would mean doing everything from buying great fish, to cleaning them and finally to cooking and eating them. The best fish that you can buy is usually something you’ll find in a Japanese or Chinese market in your town. The Japanese markets especially have punishingly high standards for the fish they sell; if your city has a Chinatown, they’ll usually have lots of stalls with live fish fillets; try to establish a relationship with your fishmonger to try to understand which picks should suit your recipe best.

So now that we have the preliminaries over with, let’s start with our healthy fish recipes. Our first one is the Honey-soy broiled salmon. It something that you can usually make in about 20 minutes. You could eat it by itself as a healthy snack, or you could make a meal of it serving it with brown rice and red peppers that you could sauté. It makes for a side dish that’s sweet and tangy at the same time; the sesame seeds you toast to garnish it with in the end, accent the whole meal with a kind of nutty flavor.

Pick up couple of tablespoons of soy sauce, a tablespoon of rice vinegar, a minced scallion, a teaspoon of minced fresh minced ginger, and a tablespoon of honey; you’ll need a medium-sized bowl to place all of this in; whisk briskly until all the honey mixes inwell. The fish you’ll use in this recipe will be four pieces of skinned and center-cut salmon fillet, all amounting to one pound. Cover the salmon in 4 tablespoons of the sauce you just made, place the pieces in a plastic bag, and let the sauce soak in for about 20 minutes.

Prepare a baking pan, lining it with foil, and spreading out a bit of cooking spray. Take out the salmon from the fridge, and place the pieces on the cooking pan with the skinless parts facing down. You’ll need to broil them on a high flame for about 10 minutes. Make sure that the pan is about 5 inches off the flame though. Check to make sure that it’s done, sprinkle on the remaining sauce you have, and garnish with sesame. Healthy fish recipes like this will fulfill your daily quota of Omega-3′s, and you’ll get practically all the protein and potassium you need.

Up next is the Orata All’ Acqua Pazza; it’s an impressive and strong-tasting recipe, and you can use it with bass, grouper or snapper. The typical ingredients we’ll need will be as follows: a cup of water, a 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil, a 1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley, a pound of diced tomatoes, 2 pounds of the fish you choose, whole, two cloves of garlic and red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper. You need to start out by preheating the oven to about 350°F. Prepare an ovenproof roasting pan by pouring in half of the olive oil you set out, and throw in the garlic and a teaspoon of the red pepper flakes. Sauté these for as long as it takes to brown them; add in the tomatoes and sautée them as well.

Shake a little sea salt and black pepper on the fish, and place it in the oven pan with the mixture you just cooked. Pour in the water you set out, and bake for 25 minutes. You’ll know that it’s done when you stick a thermometer in the center of the fish, and it reads 140°F. You’ll need to cook the sauce now with the flame turned all the way up until you’ve reduced it to about just a cup. Add in the parsley and the olive oil and you are done. A little salt and pepper should be appropriate, you can fillet the fish, add on the remaining sauce, and serve right away. It should make a great dinner for four, and bring you some well-deserved appreciation.

The author has been writing articles online for 4 years now. Come visit his latest site Rapid Automated Income bonus that discusses Rapid Automated Income by Matt Benwell.

Pesto Recipe

Monday, July 19th, 2010

Do you want it green, red or white? I think I will go with green. At this point, you might be wondering what those colors are. They are the colors of the three main sauces of your spaghetti: marinara, alfredo or pesto. Trust me when I say go with green because pesto sauce, which is made from fresh basil and garlic are far healthier than the other two. And the good news is you can actually create your own pesto recipe to save cost.

3 Bean Salad Recipe

Monday, July 19th, 2010

While Sylvester the cat is sick of being fed baked beans everyday because it is bland, dull and tasteless, this does not have to be the case for you. With a little bit of creativity and some white kidney beans and red beans, you can spruce things up a little.

Click here to read more about a complete 3 bean salad recipe.

Blueberry Recipes

Sunday, July 18th, 2010

Nothing is more relaxing, delicious and enticing than a cup of blueberries during this hot summer. Blueberries are one of those food that is overlooked by many people. They are extremely rich in vitamins and antioxidants. Also, there are many ways to consume blueberries. You can eat them raw or you can process them into pastries, ice cream or anything you like using some blueberry recipes to satisfy your taste buds.

An Authentic Seafood Gumbo Recipe

Sunday, July 18th, 2010

If you’re looking for a seafood gumbo recipe, you’ve hit the jackpot! I confess to being a gumbo addict, first becoming acquainted with this culinary delight some 20+ years ago. Gumbo is the most incredible soup on the planet, IMHO. First, a little history: Gumbo is a Cajun dish, derived from French, Caribbean, African-American and Native American culinary influences. It’s similar to that famous French creation, bouillabaisse, adapted to ingredients available in the Southern United States. There are probably hundreds, if not thousands, of recipes for seafood gumbo. Every seafood gumbo cook has a favorite combination of ingredients. Here I’ve listed my personal list of favorites. You might want to try this seafood gumbo recipe just as it is – see how you like it (Mmmmm!). This will help you discover the incomparable taste of gumbo. Next time you make it, toss in any type of seafood that strikes your fancy.

The real secret to an authentic gumbo lies in the roux, a carefully prepared mixture of vegetable oil and flour, and the particular mix of vegetables, consisting of onions, bell peppers and celery. Seasoning is also an important component of gumbo. There are two types of thickening agents for gumbo. One type of gumbo is thickened with okra, the other with sassafras (known as gumbo file’, available at supermarkets in the spice aisle). This seafood gumbo recipe employs gumbo file’ as the thickener, simply my preference, as okra has a sticky quality I don’t care for. OK, those are the basics. Let’s move on to your very next menu BFF.

This recipe yields 12 bodacious servings. Take my word for it when I say you never have to worry about too much gumbo! You’ll be lucky if it idles in the frig after the second day. Please note that the flavor improves when you make it a day ahead of time. Just put a lock on the stock pot until you’re ready to serve!

Heavenly Seafood Gumbo Recipe
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1 cup of flour
1 cup of vegetable oil

3 medium-large yellow onions, diced
4 sweet bell peppers (1 each green, red, yellow and orange recommended)
1 bunch of celery, sliced in about ½ inch slices

2 quarts of stock (chicken, shrimp broth and clam juice make an ideal mix)

1 pound of medium shrimp, uncooked, with shells
1 pound of bay scallops
2 15-ounce cans of chopped clams
1 pound of crayfish (available in the seafood freezer section)
1/2-1 pound of crab meat

1 tablespoon fresh minced garlic
1-1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon gumbo file’
cayenne pepper or Tabasco sauce to taste (read instructions carefully on this!)

cooked white rice

Preparation:

1.Wash and prep all of the veggies, setting aside in a large bowl.
2.Peel the shrimp and set aside. Put the shells in a saucepan with 3 cups of water. Bring to a simmer and allow to cook for 10-15 minutes. Remove the shells and discard (unless you’ve got a kitty – they love these!). Pour the shrimp shell broth in to an 8-cup measuring cup. Open the cans of clams and drain the juice in to the same measuring cup. Fill the remainder of the measuring cup with chicken broth. (Note: A mixed stock delivers a more complex flavor.) If necessary, defrost the scallops and crayfish.
3.In a 10-12 quart stockpot, warm the vegetable oil over low heat. When the oil is well warmed (do not let it smoke!), begin to add the flour, slowly, using a whisk constantly to mix the oil and flour. This step of the seafood gumbo recipe is the only tedious part. It takes about 20 minutes of whisking the mixture to achieve the deep, mahogany color that makes the perfect gumbo roux. Be patient! Don’t let it burn. It will acquire a nutty scent as you go along. Keep whisking … it’s great exercise for the arms!
4.When the roux is done, immediately pour all of the veggies in to the stock pot, using a slotted spoon to mix the roux and veggies well, stirring for just 2-3 minutes.
5.Slowly, add the 8 cups of prepared stock to the stock pot, about a cup at a time, stirring all the while.
6.Add the garlic, bay leaf and thyme to the pot. Stir well and let it simmer for 2-3 hours. This step doesn’t require more than an occasional stirring and develops that authentic Gumbo depth of flavor.
7.Add the shrimp, scallops, clams and crayfish to the pot. Stir well and allow to continue simmering for about 15 minutes.
8.Add the gumbo file’ and stir well. This thickens the gumbo.
9.The fun and final steps for this seafood Gumbo recipe: Taste your brew, adding salt to taste – salt does bring out the taste of your gumbo marvelously. Just don’t overdo it. You may also opt to lightly salt the Gumbo and let each diner salt to their taste. Add the cayenne pepper or Tabasco(R) sauce, but carefully! A good rule of thumb is ¼ teaspoon of cayenne, or several drops of Tabasco(R) at a time. Stir well and keep taste testing until you’re satisfied.

Your seafood Gumbo recipe is now complete! Put a cup or two of cooked rice in a large bowl for each serving. Ladle about two cups of Gumbo over each bowl. Now it’s time to eat the fruits of your seafood Gumbo recipe. Bon Appetit!

The author has been writing articles online for 4 years now. Come visit his latest site Slide In Code review that discusses Slide In Code by Sean Clark.

Salmon Pasta Recipe

Sunday, July 18th, 2010

It’s nice to vary our usual menus with something new every now and then. In fact, most cooks are on the lookout for new recipes to keep the family interested in showing up for dinner! Here, we’ve got a terrific salmon pasta recipe that fills the bill. Besides the great taste, this dish is full of ingredients that provide excellent nutrition, including those important antioxidants, fiber and Omega-3s. This salmon pasta recipe not only tastes great, but has a lot of visual appeal. If you enjoy seafood, there’s simply nothing not to like about this one-dish meal. The following recipe serves 4 and is filling as well as being economical. Take a look.

Seafood & Salmon Pasta Recipe
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8 ounces Linguine pasta, cooked and drained
6 ounces of salmon (fresh or frozen, farm-raised or wild)
1 15-ounce can baby clams
½ pound cooked salad shrimp
4 large white mushrooms, sliced
1 medium shallot, diced
¼ pound snow peas
1 sweet red pepper, diced
1 large tomato, diced
1 tablespoon butter
3 slices bacon, cooked and broken
4-5 leaves of fresh basil (or 1 ½ teaspoons dried)
6-8 blades fresh chives (optional)
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon lemon juice

1.Broil or microwave the salmon until done. Cut into bite-sized chunks and set aside in a bowl.
2.Drain the clams, reserving the broth. Add the clams and shrimp to the bowl.
3.Prepare the veggies as noted above. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add all of the veggies and the clam broth. Saute, stirring occasionally.
4.As the veggies are cooking, fry or microwave the bacon slices. Break the bacon into bite sized pieces.
5.When the veggies are done, reduce the heat to low. To the skillet, add the bacon pieces, salmon, seafood, lemon juice and seasonings. Cover and keep warm.
6.Divide the pasta among four plates. Spoon the seafood and veggie mix over each serving. If desired, serve with a wedge of lemon for each serving.

Dinner is served! Your family or guests will surely be impressed. Don’t be surprised if friends ask for the recipe. The family will most certainly want this dish to be a regular on your menus. This seafood and salmon pasta recipe goes great with a crusty loaf of garlic buttered French bread and a small green salad. To your good health!

The author has been writing articles online for 4 years now. Come visit his latest site FB Siphon by Jani Ghaffor that discusses FB Siphon review.

Macaroni Salad

Saturday, July 17th, 2010

While it is true that macaroni and cheese is the all American food, it is definitely not the healthiest item in the world because it is high in fat and calories. A much healthier option would be to go for the macaroni salad because it does not contain any fat and it is low in calories. If you have a pack of macaroni shelved away somewhere in your kitchen, you are all set to make a fabulous macaroni salad recipe.

Absolute Nutrition

Saturday, July 17th, 2010

When we talk of nutrition, we are referring to fats, carbohydrates, water, vitamins, minerals, and proteins, which are its constituents. The body requires both micronutrients and macronutrients for its functionality. Micronutrients refer to the nutrients needed in small quantities whereas macronutrients refer to those that are needed in large quantities. Micronutrients will include vitamins and minerals and the body requires them in fewer quantities whereas macronutrients include proteins, carbohydrates, fiber, and fats, which are required in large quantities as they are used for most of the body’s functions.

The body requires a lot of energy to run and that is why people must consume energy giving foods in plenty. A healthy diet is a concern among many of people and they try hard to eat a balanced diet. Many people however end up eating the wrong foods maybe due to misinformation or lack of time to fix a healthy meal. Absolute nutrition studies will touch on metabolism which looks at how fast or how slow the body converts foods to energy. It also looks at physiological factors, which may influence a person’s diet.

When we talk of absolute nutrition, we are referring to a total healthy diet that seeks at providing the recipient with nourishment. When we consume a healthy diet, many of our health problems are kept at bay and we enjoy a more productive life. Absolute nutrition guarantees a high immunity and people thus get ill less often. Healthy people make a productive lot and it is important to note that healthy children perform better in school whereas healthy adults become more productive in their daily activities.

A poor nutrition results into constant illness since the body lacks immunity. As a result, people may become poor and lead a low life since they are not strong enough to provide for themselves and their families. Absolute nutrition revolves around planned meals, human nutrition, preparation and economics, which all determines whether one, will enjoy a nutritious meal or not. People looking at embarking on absolute nutrition will need to consult their health providers as well as their dieticians. This way, they will be better placed in picking a routine nutritional schedule of meals that will work for them.

People who deviate from absolute nutrition will be at a high risk of contracting illnesses that come as a result of nutritional defects. These diseases will include beriberi, scurvy, kwashiorkor, obesity, diabetes, and many other conditions, which come as a result of poor nutrition. Malnutrition has affected many people negatively and most of them have even died out of nutritional deficiencies. Absolute nutrition ensures that the right diet is being consumed and helps in keeping health defects such as obesity at bay. Matters of nutrition therefore need to be taken seriously to avert such deaths and also ensure that the body is kept away from chronic diseases such as cancers, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes, which are hard to treat. It is therefore important to know what works for the body and what a balanced diet is composed of.

The author has been writing articles online for 4 years now. Come visit his latest site Internet Marketing Empire review that discusses Internet Marketing Empire by Chris Freville.

How Legitimate is the Vitamin Nutrition Supplement Industry? Is There A Real Benefit?

Saturday, July 17th, 2010

Whoever it was that said that the economic recession has been uniformly bad news across the board for the country, hasn’t been paying attention to what life is like at the companies that live on the fringe of the medical industry – the ones that make vitamin nutrition supplement products – those expensive and extravagantly advertised little bottles of pills that we get over the counter in the hope that they’ll somehow sprinkle pixie dust on our lives. Ever since the recession started and people begin to lose their jobs and the health cover that came with the jobs, these unproven products have begun to seem especially attractive as a way to stave off the possibility of any illness that could financially wipe them out.

Millions fall for the charms of the colorful claims on all the advertising that the makers of supplements put out on TV, on magazines, and of course on spam. They promise herbs for the heart, minerals for the memory, vitamins and supplements for cancer and everything in between, to help oil the joints, make people stronger, and perhaps help people lose weight while they veg out in front of the TV. Not that there’s anything really wrong with the very idea; we all want to find something that will help make the aging process less painful. But the makers of vitamin nutrition supplement products look forward to building an entire industry on these exaggerated hopes.

In developed countries around the world, more than half of all children born now can expect to live to be a hundred. That hope can rightfully fill us with great anticipation and gladness for what it has done to make our dreams of immotality that much closer to being reality. But there is no real virtue in just living a long time if you are crippled with arthritis and are covered in skin breakouts because you don’t get enough of some important vitamin. The next goal for medicine should be to make all those years it has gained us as pleasurable to live and as productive, as any of our younger years. Modern medicine certainly has made a lot of progress in this direction; we do know a lot more about what goes into bringing better health to our later years. But most Americans would rather rely on quack over-the-counter vitamin nutrition supplement products than take advantage of the real science and medicine that exists for this. Colorful bottles on drug store shelves, fish oils, minerals, herbs and antioxidant punches surely seem somewhat more promising than expensive medical investigations into making your old age a better experience.

Perhaps all of this is the fault of science to begin with. As recently as 20 years ago, scientists believed that vitamin nutrition supplement products could help with everything from cancer to arthritis. The advice that they drummed in back then may simply have sunk in today, and it could take just as long to help people become familiar with all the new scientific understanding that has come about since then. The chemistry of the human body is apparently more complicated than anyone ever thought before. Scientists are discovering now that the best way to keep out high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes and whatnot is far more accessible with a simple change of the diet than it is with cartloads of supplements. Diet control, is the new scientific mantra.

The diet that scientists now advocate is not vegetarian or anything drastic. It’s just a lot closer to where the food chain starts – closer to the bottom that the top. When the supplement makers claim all those benefits for their products, it isn’t as if they’ve actually tested those pills for those effects. They just test natural foods that have those vitamins and nutrients. When a supplement maker tells you that three pills a day are going to do you world of good, what they actually mean is this: that they know that taking enough natural food that could contain as much natural vitamin as those three pills each day would do you world of good. For instance, there are lots of fruits that contain natural antioxidants that have blood purifying properties. Time and time again, it’s been proven that picking supplements with those same antioxidants does no good. Similar findings exist for vitamin supplements too. No matter which way you look at it, the vitamin nutrition supplement is a questionable product to trust your luck to.

The author has been writing articles online for 4 years now. Come visit his latest site Mobile Monopoly bonus that reviews Mobile Monopoly by Adam Horwitz.