How to Cook A Spiny Lobster

If you travel to the Caribbean islands or along the coast of Central America, you'll often see lobster on the menu of the restaurants. This isn't the true, or Maine type lobster you may be more familiar with, but rather a somewhat similar looking creature called the spiny lobster or rock lobster.

Have no fear. Spiny lobsters are every bit as delicious as their more northern distant relative. But there are some differences between the two that you should be aware of, especially if you're the one doing the cooking.

It's quite likely you'll encounter a spiny lobster in your local supermarket any day now, if you haven't already. Spiny lobsters are generally more abundant and less expensive than true lobsters, and acceptance among consumers is growing. In many restaurants in the U.S., when you order lobster tails, you'll be getting tails of spiny lobsters.

You should first of all know that the cousinship between spiny and true lobsters really is a distant one. They are related by virtue of both being crustaceans, but that's about it. Spiny lobsters are actually more closely related to freshwater crawfish (also spelled "crayfish"). In fact, some varieties of spiny lobsters are called see crawfish.

Spiny lobsters lack the claws, or chelae, of true lobsters. Thus, most of their meat is to be found in their tails.

You can cook a spiny lobster much as you would a true lobster, except of course that you must forget about getting any claw meat from it. If it's a good-sized specimen, though, rest assured that your spiny lobster will yield a generous portion of delicious meat from its tail alone. When cooked, that meat will be white, well textured and with a distinct hint of sweetness to it.

If you're starting with a whole lobster, you should place it in boiling, salted water, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Lobster tails can be cooked the same way, except you should reduce the cooking time to 8 to 10 minutes. Total cooking time will depend on the size of the lobster, of course. (If you're cooking a whole spiny lobster, you'll know it's done when its shell has turned a bright reddish orange.)

After cooking, take scissors and snip off the underside of the shell of the lobster tails. Lift the meat out of the top shell and put it in a bowl or on serving dishes.

Crave something fancier? Cook lobster shells as above, then salt and pepper the tail meat and brush it with melted butter. Top it with a tomato relish made from 2 cups of diced tomatoes, a tablespoon of olive oil, 3 tablespoons of red wine vinegar, 3 fresh basil leaves, 1 minced shallot and 1 minced garlic clove. Wonderful!

Cooking Recipe - Hey Campers, Why Not Barbeque Your Fresh Trout With This Quick Cooking Recipe?

Have you ever caught a trout yourself? If you haven't I must tell you it is quite an experience. It really does go beyond a fishing rod and a fish. And of course it is a very healthy outdoor activity too.

If you have caught the trout yourself, I congratulate you and well done! Another part of the great fishing experience is the cooking of the fish. I'm now going to show you a great cooking recipe. Trout are an excellent fish to catch. This is because when caught on a rod and line they give you that extra adrenalin rush and excitement. Trout are after all, a great fighting fish, especially for their size.

I love fishing for trout and I know you'll enjoy it too. Just find an opportunity and see for yourself.

If you have bought your trout from a shop, it will probably be a farmed trout. It still has the same high content of vitamins, minerals and omega 3 fatty acids as with wild trout. I find farmed trout doesn't quite have as much flavor as the wild variety but still extremely tasty and much healthier for you than fast foods. The same applies to all domestic and wild foods. They tend to taste slightly different but hey they still have the same goodness in them.

Below is an excellent cooking recipe that is simple and quick. It'll get maximum flavor and health benefits from the fish by using a barbeque, whether you have farmed or wild trout.

Ingredients:

Serves 2

4 trout approximately 8-10 inches long
1 fresh lemon
2 knobs of butter
Salt and pepper
4 pieces of tin foil (approximately 12 inches long by 8 inches wide)

Method:

Take the trout and gut them, leaving the heads on if you prefer. Once you have gutted them wash them thoroughly. Cut the fish with a sharp knife starting at the underbelly back to the tail, only going as deep as the backbone. Once that is done, open up the fish flat. Sprinkle on the salt and pepper for seasoning and then add a knob of butter. Place two thin slices of lemon on top of each fish. Close up the fish so the lemon slices and the seasoning end up inside the fish. Now place the fish onto the tin foil.

Gently wrap each fish individually in the foil into a parcel and seal all around by folding in the sides. This keeps in the moisture and prevents the fish from quickly going dry. Sealing in the moisture preserves more of the vitamins, minerals and omega 3 fatty acids and of course keeps the fish succulent. Barbeque for approximately 10 minutes each side. Once done take off the barbeque and open up the tin foil. Before eating, take a moment and savor that wonderful aroma of the freshly cooked trout. Fantastic!

Serve with a selection of lightly boiled vegetables which adds more vitamins and minerals to provide a satisfying and wholesome meal. Enjoy your meal and enjoy your camping.

How To Keep Family Recipes

Have you collected a sizable number of recipes over the years? For example, think of your grandmother's special baked yams. Or, during the holidays, consider the wonderful mint lamb that your mom always cooks. An important part of being a cook is using a recipe. This is primarily why recipes that are valuable to us, are cataloged. These are important things to you, yet, if their ingredients and cooking instructions are not ever written down, they probably would get lost forever.

If you let this happen, you will might miss another important part of being a good cook. You would be not able to pass on these specialties to your future generation or anyone that is close to you. Besides preparing great food, tracking your recipes is a way to preserve tradition.

Here, in the text below, are some tips to get you started.

Put Everything In Writing

Keeping track of how you prepare foods is important and well worth doing. Even though, it may not appear relevant right now, consider what would happen if you suddenly could not remember one final ingredient or the right baking temperature. What if it has been years since you cooked the recipe and you completely forgot it? The chances of this happening to you will be slim, if you keep detailed notes. That way, no matter what you may forget, you will always have your notes as a backup.

As you store recipes for many years, you may also want to add what substitutes can replace an ingredient. For example, if one recipe calls for sweetened evaporated milk, and there is none on the shelf, you might include how you can use a mixture of a tablespoon of sugar or honey as a substitute. Also, if the recipe asked for a particular name of a food manufacturer, a similar food, but with a different manufacturer may be able to be used instead, and can be noted on the recipe.

What Is Your Perfect System

Jotting down notes on an index card and then storing them in a file box is the typical way to keep recipes. In addition to this method or several other storage options. There are a lot decorative kitchen binders that can hold many pages of recipes. Today, you can keep a track of your recipes on a hand held PDA or desktop computer. It all depends on what best suits your style and personality.

Expanding Your Collection

Even if you do not cook that often, as time goes by, you will probably end up gathering many recipes. A good way to manage your collection is to design it in such a way that it can be expanded. That is one of the key points as to why the familiar file box method remains popular. Putting the recipe in the index file is simple. Consider also, that you could do the same thing with a binder or a file on a computer. Any one of these methods will provide you with the ability to grow your collection easily as you store another new recipe.

For more tips and help on how to use recipes to help you become a better cook, visit the Internet where you can purchase an ebook on everything you ever wanted to know about cooking but could never ask.

Campfire Cooking Recipes - 4 Great Camping Dishes Using Traditional Campfire Cooking Recipes

There is nothing like the fresh air and exercise that you get on a hiking or camping trip, to work up a really big appetite. But you don't want to spend ages preparing and cooking complicated meals, which turns it into a chore.

The whole experience should be fun, so if you can plan out a few simple camping dishes, it can make it a lot more enjoyable. Well with some traditional campfire cooking recipes, this can be a lot easier than you think.

Try out a couple or even all of the easy recipes below and see how much more exciting and interesting you can make your camping meals.

BREAKFAST

Oat and nut pancakes.

Ingredients.

1 & 1/2 half cups of oats,

1 cup of flour,

2 tablespoons of brown sugar,

Pinch of salt, to taste,

3 teaspoons of baking powder,

½ a cup of mixed chopped nuts,

1 & ½ cups of milk,

2 eggs,

2 tablespoons of butter,

Mix together all the dry ingredients (oats, flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, nuts,) and put to one side, while you whisk together the milk, eggs, and butter. Pour this onto the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Lightly grease a griddle or frying pan and pre heat on the fire. Pour about half a cup of the pancake mix into the pan and cook until bubbly and edges look dry, turn pancake over and cook until golden brown. Serve with maple syrup or similar.

LUNCH

Simple Spam snack.

Ingredients.

1 onion,

3 or 4 potatoes, (depending on size),

1 tin of Spam,

1 tablespoon of butter,

Salt & pepper to taste.

Peel and chop the onion and potatoes into roughly ¾ inch pieces, and cook in skillet or frying pan until tender. Chop spam into similar size cubes as onion and potatoes and add to skillet or pan add salt and pepper and continue cooking until all ingredients are, crispy and spam is well heated through. Allow to cool slightly and serve with some crusty bread and butter.

MAIN MEAL

Foil cooked Meatloaf.

Ingredients.

2 pounds of ground beef,

1 egg,

½ a cup of bread crumbs,

½ a can of tomato soup,

Salt & pepper to taste.

Mix all the ingredients together in a suitable container or bowl until it all binds together and can be moulded into a loaf shape of your choice. Place into a large piece of tin foil and wrap well, leaving an air pocket at the top for steam. Cook on small grill on top of fire embers for approximately ¾ of an hour, turning as necessary. Serve with potatoes and vegetables of your choice. Will serve 4 people.

SWEET

Baked Banana.

For a quick tasty desert, simply split a banana lengthwise leaving the skin on. Insert brown sugar and butter into split. Wrap in tin foil and bake in embers of fire until sugar and butter melt into the banana.

Grandma Hystad's Recipes, Food, Cooking, Cleaning Tips, Stain Removal

This article will have no recipes, bar mixes, but will just have information, tips on cooking and hard to remove stains, cleaning tips.

BACK TO COOKING SCHOOL.

General rules.

TENDER CUTS of meat can be cooked by dry heat, as in broiling, pan-
broiling, or roasting.

TOUGH CUTS can only be made tender by moist heat, as in pot roasting and
Stewing.

Our main object is to prevent shrinkage in so far as possible, and
produce a tender, juicy, tasty product. In roasting, searing does little
to help keep in juices, less shrinkage results at a lower temperature for
a longer time (300 F). Searing however makes the meat look attractive and
the outside layers taste better.

An uncovered pan with a rack in the bottom gives the best results in
roasting. Cooking time varies with preference.

For rare meat, 16 minutes per pound.

For medium meat, 22 minutes per pound.

For well done meat, 30 minutes per pound.

Add salt during or after cooking, not before. The salt flavour does not penetrate
more then 1 inch. If the meat does not reach the desired colour during roasting,
increase the heat to (500 F) for a few minutes before removing from the pan.

Methods of searing is subjecting the meat to a high temperature until it
is nicely browned.

By browing in an uncovered pan in a hot oven (450 F-500F).

By browing in hot fat in a frying pan on the surface burner.

By adding boiling water and cooking at boiling temperature until the
outside of the meat has lost its red colour.

Reasons For Cooking Meat

To develop flavour.

To soften the connective tissue when present in large quantity.

To kill any living organisms that may be present.

LIGHTSIDE

A teacher was giving her class a test on birds. She decided to test in a different manner.
Rather then in text she gave her students pictures of birds, but just with their legs showing.
The students had to figure out the name of the birds the legs belong to.

A male student took a look at the test, grab the paper, stormed to the
teachers desk, threw the paper on her desk and started to leave the room.
The teacher stopped him and asked for his name. The student turned,
pulled up his pant leg and replied, "you figure it out".

To Make Soup

When buying a roast from which the bone has been trimmed, remember you pay
for the bone. Make sue you ask for it and use it making meat broth or soup
stock. When the bone is cooked in water for a long time, a substance inside
It changes into gelatine. This dissolves in hot water and so is present in the soup stock.

Soup stock is improved be adding some meat. The toughest cuts-such as the
shank-which are rich in extractives are best. Very little nourishment is dissolved out in water,
use the soup meat in left-over dishes. To improve flavour add onions or Oxon cubes.

Browning the meat improves the flavour. In making soup, brown one-third
of the meat in marrow or fat. Add cold water to cover the bone. Heat to
simmering temperature, and cook slowly for about 3 hours. Vegetables may
be added in the last hour. Celery leaves for added flavour.

Reasons For Cooking Meat.

To develop flavour.

To soften the connective tissue.

To kill any living organisms'.

OVEN ROAST.

Prepare meat as in general cooking rules above.
Place on a rack in dripping-pan and dredge meat.
Follow general rules for roasting. Serve with brown gravy.

Brown Gravy.

Estimate fat in pan.

Add the same quantity of flour with seasoning to taste.

Add boiling water to make the consistency of medium white sauce.

Cook until no taste of raw starch.

Season with salt and pepper.

STAIN REMOVAL

Before washing, it is essential that all stains be removed. Sometimes
soap or hot water will set a stain and make its removal impossible.

Berry Stain, place the stained part over a pot and pour boiling water
over it from a height of about 2 feet so as to strike the stain with
force. Plunge the stained part up and down in the hot water until the
stain is removed. If stain is persistent, use javelle water.

Peach Stains, are not easy to remove. Be careful not to wipe hands with
peach-stains on a good napkin, towel or apron. Stretch stain over a pot of
hot water and apply javelle water with a medicine-dropper. Do not allow it
remain too long in contact with the fibres. Javelle water rots even cotton
and linen. Apply oxalic-acid solution to naturalise the alkali and rinse
thoroughly in hot water. Several applications may be necessary.

Tea And Coffee Stains.

Follow the same procedures as for berry stains above.

Blood and Meat-Juice.

Never put in hot water as that sets the stain. Soak at once in cold
water. Rub with soap and wash. A paste of raw starch mixed with cold
water will remove these stains on flannel, blankets, and heavy goods.
Repeat until stain disappears.

Egg-Stain, wash in cold water, then warm water and soap.

Having A Party? Weight Makes A Difference.

If you're having a party, provide food with drinks.
Offer non-alcoholic substitutes such as fruit, soft drinks.

2 drinks taken within an hour by a person 100 pounds produces a
075 reading. One drink is equal to about 1.5 oz. of whisky or 2
bottles of beer. The rate of elimination for each hour after
drinking has stopped is 015. A 200 pound person, after 1 drink
produces a reading of .019, so you can see there is a big difference
due to weight.

As a host it is your duty to make sure no one leaves your party
impaired. Have some one drive them home.

Disclaimer: The Author of this article is not responsible for accuracy or completeness nor shall he be held liable for any damage or loss arising out of or in any way related to the information or utilization of it.

Old-Fashioned Recipes Are Still the Best Cooking

It seems like every day offers up a new medium online or on television for recipe lovers. On cable, channels dedicated to cooking have cropped up, and individual programs offer in-depth look at specific types of cooking, cuisine and recipes. And on the Internet, there are even more resources for new and old-fashioned favorite recipes, as well as forums and communities that let you search and share recipes with other amateur cooks. There are more resources than ever available to recipe lovers everywhere, and new recipes that no one has ever heard of are invented every day. Yet even in the face of all of the new recipes and cooking styles, good old-fashioned recipes still remain the number one favorite of Americans as well as people in other countries, as well.

While our cooking tools, implements and ingredients have changed dramatically over the last century (think of the microwave and fat-free ingredients, for instance), the favorite recipes are still those that were cooked up well over a century ago. Old-fashioned favorite traditional meals still make up the majority of the meals that are cooked for families across the United States and other nations around the world. While the way we cook may have changed, the food that we eat really hasn't. Although it may be presented in different ways, the old-fashioned favorites are still showing up in recipes just as frequently as they were a century ago.

And can you really blame anyone for enjoying old-fashioned cooking and recipes more than the new-age, bland, strange food that is served up in some new restaurants? The best-tasting recipes are the ones that our grandmothers and great-grandmothers treated their families to many years ago, and some people count family recipes as their most prized possessions. They commit these family recipes to memory and pass them on to their children as heirlooms that are to be treated with reverence and respect. In fact, even suggesting a small change to grandma's traditional recipe is enough to anger some of today's cooks in their own home kitchens.

But wait: what about new fat-free and healthy eating crazes that have captured much of the nation? For some, it is heresy to transform traditional family recipes into fat-free or healthy versions, but luckily it is still indeed possible to create those traditional recipes while using healthier ingredients. Thankfully, many new healthy ingredients taste much the same as our traditional less healthy counterparts, so most people won't notice much of a difference. But just to be safe, it is probably better not to mention to the most traditional diners that you went out of your way to make their meal a little healthy. Let them eat and enjoy, and the healthiness of your traditional recipe can be your own secret!

Cooking Recipe - A Quick and Tasty Recipe For Barbequed Chicken Kebab

A barbeque is a very versatile way of cooking and the food tastes great. One of the easiest meats to cook on a barbeque is chicken which is full of protein and low in fat especially the breasts. In this recipe we use the chicken breasts.

Imagine you and your family have had a great day together, relaxing or enjoying what you like doing best. It's been a hot day and it is getting late in the afternoon. Your thoughts drift to that question, what shall we have for our evening meal?

I don`t want to spend ages preparing and cooking it. Ah, a barbeque you might think. Below is a recipe that uses fresh succulent chicken breasts. The breasts are all meat and no fat which is great if you are dieting or if you need low cholesterol foods.

INGREDIENTS

Serves 4

4 large chicken breasts
1 large red pepper
1 large onion
1 dozen button mushrooms
2 cloves of garlic
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons of olive oil
8 skewers (either wood or metal)

METHOD

Take the four large chicken breasts. Cut down the middle length ways. Then cut across several times to make manageable sizes to fit on the skewers. Take the red pepper and slice into four sections. Again cut length ways and remove the seeds and pith.

Cut across the peppers to make smaller pieces. The onion also needs to be cut into four equal sections length ways and once again across the middle. Using a garlic crusher, crush the garlic cloves. Place the garlic in a small container, add the olive oil to this and stir well together.

Take a skewer and put a piece of chicken on it. Then add a piece of red pepper and a button mushroom. The onion can be added to the end as one big piece. Alternatively, using your fingers, separate some sections and put them on after the red pepper and mushroom.

Repeat the process starting with a piece of chicken until you have filled the skewer. When you have done all eight skewers sprinkle on the salt and pepper for taste. Finally brush on the olive oil and garlic mix to add to the flavour. This also stops the chicken from sticking to the barbeque grill.

Put the skewers on the hot barbeque. Cook for approximately 15 minutes, rotating the skewers to give an evenly cooked kebab. Baste the skewers 2 or 3 times with the garlic oil you made just.

Again this keeps your culinary creation succulent and gives it a more "garlicy" taste. When the kebabs are done place them on a plate with a little salad and enjoy a simple, quick, nutritious and delicious meal.

Cooking and Eating Italian Food - Delicious Food For the Family

Fresh ingredients:
Cooking Italian recipes depends upon one basic fact: the freshness of the ingredients. No processed foods are used in the creation of these delightful, elegant, yet deceptively simple meals.

Olive oil and garlic:
Staples of an Italian kitchen are olio d'oliva (olive oil) and aglio (garlic). Always choose extra virgin olive oil and fresh garlic. You will not see any garlic powder or garlic salt in a traditional Italian kitchen. Another common ingredient when in many Italian dishes is pomodori (tomatoes), which are used fresh in sauces, served in the antipasti or starter as a garnish over toasted bread, or in salads. Olive oil is used when Cooking Italian recipes for frying, sautéing, dressing on salads, and every other place where we would usually use shortening or vegetable oil.

Italians love their mealtime, and they take a long time to get through the entire meal. Dinner typically starts around 8:00 PM and is over around 10:00 PM. Family is key to Italians and you will often find children in the kitchen, learning to cook right along with the adults. The family comes together over the meal and large, boisterous meal times are not uncommon in an Italian household, with lots of shouting, laughter and good natured teasing accompanying the pasta. Cooking Italian recipes is something the Italians take very seriously.

The courses in an Italian meal:
The antipasti, or starter course mentioned earlier comes to the table on platters family style. It can be something as simple as a bruschetta (toasted garlic bread) with a variety of toppings to a more sophisticated dish made with zucchini flowers and grated parmesan cheese. By the way, when pronouncing Italian words, the 'ch' sounds like a 'k,' so the word bruschetta is pronounced bru-sketta. To get the 'ch' sound in Italian, put two c's together as in Gucci.

Following the antipasti, the primi piatti, or first course is served. This is usually a pasta course, but can also be a soup, crepe, polenta, rice, or gnocchi. Pasta is also a staple in Italian recipes, and you will usually find a pasta dish set on the table for every evening meal. Explore the Italian cookbooks for your favorite pasta or other starchy dish for your primi piatti.

The next course is the main course, or the secondi piatti. This is a meat course, served with a contorni or side dish. Beef, pork, veal, fish and poultry are all served and eaten with relish in Italy. Side dishes, or contorni, are sometimes salads, but often are starchy dishes like potatoes or beans.

Desert is not to be forgotten as a sweet, but not too sweet, end to your cooking Italian recipes experience. One of my favorite Italian deserts is contuccini. Contuccini is a small version of the popular Italian cookie called biscotti. These sweet, but hard, little almond cookies are served after a typical Italian meal with a sweet desert wine. Set shot glasses in front of your guests, fill each one with the desert wine and instruct them to dunk the contuccini in the wine before eating it. Delicicio!

How to Cook Wahoo

Wahoo! I have to admit, I love the name of this fish. I also love how it tastes.

Wahoo is not exactly the cheapest fish in the seafood market, nor is it one that's always readily available. There are two reasons for this that I'm aware of:

1) Wahoo is in high demand from seafood connoisseurs who prize it for its delicate, white, high-quality flesh.

2) Wahoo is a real loner among fish. It rarely schools with others of its kind, so fisherman are lucky to ever find more than one or two in any given haul. Solitary individuals are generally taken as a "bycatch" with tuna and other large species.

As a side note, wahoo is a very fast running fish--some say the fastest fish in the world. A few people have claimed that its name comes from the shout of "Wahoo!" by those fishermen who manage to hook one. (Others say, though, that it comes from the name of Oahu, one of the Hawaiian islands.)

Wahoo can reach up to 6 feet in length, and weigh up to 100 pounds, so a single fish--if and when someone is lucky to find and catch one--can provide a good deal of meat.

You can bake or grill wahoo and it will make a fine meal either way.

Baked Wahoo

Ingredients

3 lbs. of wahoo

1 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon lime juice

1/2 cup pickle relish

2 tablespoons chopped chives

Directions

Mix mayonnaise, lemon and lime juice, pickle relish, and chives. Coat the fish all over with this mixture. Wrap fish in aluminum foil. Bake for 1/2 hour in oven preheated to 350 degrees F. If fish does not appear to be thoroughly cooked after 1/2 hour, bake for another 10 minutes.

Simple Grilled Wahoo

Ingredients

4 wahoo steaks

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 tablespoon lime juice

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon paprika

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Directions

Whisk together olive oil, lime and lemon juice, paprika, and red pepper in a small bowl. Place wahoo in a dish. Pour the marinade mix over the fish, place in refrigerator, and let stand for half an hour. Remove wahoo steaks from fridge, remove from pan, and grill directly over charcoal for 15 minutes, turning once during that time. You can use the leftover marinade mix to baste the fish while it is grilling.

How to Cook Cornish Hens

My family loves it when I cook Cornish hens for them. Because of their diminutive size compared to other chickens, the kids think they’re cute. We all find the taste to be a grade above most other kinds of chicken, too.

What most people in the United States know as a Cornish hen is really a cross-breed of poultry created from Cornish chickens and White Rock chickens. Technically, then, it should be called a Rock Cornish hen (or, to draw the name out even further, a Rock Cornish game hen).

The Rock Cornish hens found in your supermarket usually will be of a size to provide about 1 serving of meat per person. Obviously, this makes it a cinch to determine how many to buy. Serving four? Purchase four hens. Cooking for a church picnic of a hundred folks? You’ll need a hundred of these little birds (plus a few to cover the people who will insist on seconds). And so on.

Rock Cornish hens are best when oven-roasted. Roasting time varies, depending on the size and number of birds. A minimum time is 20 minutes, but most will require between 25 and 35 minutes and some will need 40 or 45 minutes. A good sign the hen is done is when you can stick a sharp knife or fork tine into it and the juices from it run clear.

You can roast Rock Cornish hens as they come straight from the butcher or supermarket, but it’s better to rub them with herbs and spices first. Try thyme or rosemary along with a little salt and fresh-ground black pepper. Some cooks like to baste their hens with melted butter—this will help to brown it and will also add extra flavor. As the hen cooks, juices will collect in the oven pan. From time to time, just scoop up these juices and pour them over the bird to keep it from drying it.

Cooking Recipe - Do You Fancy a Tasty Italian Meatballs on Spaghetti Recipe?

Are you bored with preparing the same old meals week in and week out? Well here is a recipe for Italian Meatballs with Spaghetti. It's delicious, it looks good, it smells good and it tastes great. It will delight you and any guests you have invited around for a meal. The whole meal is inexpensive to make, it only takes a few minutes to prepare and the cooking only takes up to an hour. Let me first tell you about the pasta itself.

A good tip to get pasta the right texture is to remove a small piece from the saucepan and test it between your front teeth. It should be tender but still firm to the bite. Never simmer pasta but boil it in slightly salted water quite vigorously until it softens.

Then test it with your teeth after a few minutes. Always make the pasta towards the end when preparing this recipe. Do not leave pasta standing because it goes tough and unpleasant.

Ingredients (serves 2)

2 slices of thick bread (cut off the crusts)
2 table spoons of olive oil
1 red onion finely chopped
2 garlic cloves crushed
1 large tin of chopped tomatoes
8 basil leaves
3 table spoons of tomato puree
1lb of lean minced beef
1 table spoons of sugar
2 eggs
1 table spoons of fresh parsley chopped
1 table spoons of fresh basil chopped
12oz of dried spaghetti
salt and pepper
fresh grated Parmesan cheese to sprinkle over when serving

Method

Place the bread in a dish and soak with water. The water should just cover the bread and leave it for about 5 minutes, then drain off the excess water and squeeze the bread to remove all the liquid. Heat in a saucepan the olive oil, add the onion and half the garlic and occasionally stir while gently cooking over a medium heat. Add the tomatoes plus juice, basil leaves, tomato puree and sugar and then season with salt and pepper.

Bring to boil all the contents then reduce the heat to a simmer. After about 20 minutes this should reduce to a thickened and pulpy mixture. Using a large mixing bowl put in the bread, minced beef, eggs, parsley, basil and remaining garlic. Mix them all together using your hands and add a little salt to taste.

When this is done, make little balls of the mixture. Drop them into the saucepan containing your tomato sauce. Cook over a medium heat for 30 minutes. About 15 minutes before you are ready to serve your dish, boil some slightly salted water in a saucepan. Add the spaghetti. Boil for 10 minutes and test. Once it is ready, drain it well.

Put the spaghetti into a large shallow bowl. Place your meatballs on top. Gently pour the sauce over the meatballs and the spaghetti. Sprinkle on the Parmesan cheese and serve. If you find Parmesan a little strong, use a milder cheese of your own choice.

A nice green salad is highly recommended with this recipe. And don't forget a generous helping of a quality olive oil which goes well with any salad or cooking recipe in my opinion. To accompany this meal have a glass of red wine. Enjoy.

Hearty Soup Recipes: 3 Keys To Making Soup That Heats Up The Mind, Body and Soul

As the winter season approaches it's now time to think about cooking hearty soup recipes. If the winter season has already found you without the necessary skills to prepare wholesome great tasting soups, read on. It's my opinion that nothings beats a steaming hot cup or bowl of hearty soup.

Are you reminiscent of the old days, when grandma or your mother warmed your belly with your favorite soup? If your experience were similar to mine, you'd give anything to get those days back. Cooking soup may have seemed difficult back then, but in fact making homemade soup is quite easy.

There are basically three key ingredients to making soup that satisfies the soul as well as your belly.

First, you can't rush perfection. Good soup is worth waiting for so don't cheat the process. Cooking soup is more than just tossing all the ingredients into a pot of water and bring the water to a boil and cooking as quickly as possible. Great attention should be paid to preparation such as cutting and adequate time should be given to slow cook your soups. If anybody try's to tell your otherwise say "Hogwash".

Second, the best soups use fresh ingredients. Many people will tell you that great soups can be made with leftover food ingredients. Just go to any upscale restaurant with a reputation for great tasting soup and see how many of their soup dishes feature leftover ingredients. It just doesn't happen. Take the advice of the professionals and always use the freshest of ingredients, NO leftovers.

Third, if you really want your hearty soup to stick to your stomach, use a base other than water. Milk and cream soups with potatoes and beans or a combination of the two work best. You could also use a tomato base, beef or chicken base depending upon what type of soup you're into.

There you have it, three key ingredients that all of your hearty soup recipes must have. Now the only thing left for you to do is find a couple of soup recipes and get to work cooking up some hearty soup.

George Foreman Grills

George Foreman is one of the most well-respected grill producing companies. The grill company is well known for creating some of the best grills on the market. George Foreman grills are among the most efficient grills on the market with the best reputation.

These grills have a reputation of being able to easily grill just about anything. Generally, George Foreman grills are indoor or indoor-outdoor grills and are usually electric, but the company, George Foreman Grills, also makes some larger outdoor grills, as well as some toaster ovens and other cooking products.

Speaking from my own experience, I know that George Foreman grills are perfect for the average user who wants to use grills. There are better options if you want to use it outdoors frequently or just use it all the time, but for the occasional to moderate grill user, George Foreman grills are what you need. Generally they're smaller, but big enough to cook for around 4 to 8 people at the same time fairly easily.

Typically the grills are electric as well, though I don't believe all George Foreman products are. This is a good thing for the occasional grill cooker. They're easier to use when they're electric and they can easily be used indoors or on a patio-like area. George Foreman grills are a great product from a great company that I would highly recommend. In the end you should shop around and compare similar grills from similar companies, but I feel confident if you don't need a large grill and will only use it occasionally, that a George Foreman grill is probably what the average consumer needs.

Recipes For Cooking With Beer

Cooking with beer has been a Belgian tradition for a number of years. The craze is now spreading worldwide. Here are a few beer recipes, including the famous Belgian Carbonnade a la Flamande.

Carbonnade a la Flamande

Ingredients:
1 ¼ pounds lean ground beef chuck
3 tbsp unsalted butter or margarine
¼ cup all-purpose flour
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 cups fresh or frozen chopped onions
2 3-inch springs fresh lemon thyme or ½ tsp dried thyme, crumbled
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 ½ lbs red-skin potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1 ½ inch chunks (not peeled)
1 can beef consommé - 10 ½ ounces
1 package frozen asparagus cut (do not thaw)
12 ounce can beer blended with 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
Salt and pepper

Instructions:
Shape ground chuck into large flat patty - dredge both sides in flour.
Heat butter in medium-sized Dutch oven over high for 1 minute.
Add ground chuck patty - brown 3 minutes on each side
Place patty in plate and set aside.
Lower heat to moderate temperature.
Add onions, garlic, thyme, and nutmeg to drippings and sauté (about 3 minutes).
Add potatoes and consommé.
Bring to a gentle boil.
Place lid on askew and cook for 15 minutes.
Add beer mixture and cook until liquid thickens (about 3-5 minutes).
Add meat, breaking into large clumps.
Cover and cook 10 more minutes.
Add asparagus and cook, breaking up frozen clumps, until potatoes are tender and meat shows no signs of pink (7-10 minutes).
Remove thyme sprigs.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Serve in heated soup bowls.

Chocolate Stout Cake

Ingredients:
¼ cup cocoa powder to dust the baking pans
2 sticks butter or margarine
1 cup stout or porter
2/3 scant cup Dutch-process dark cocoa powder
1 scant tsp salt
2 cups unbleached flour
2 cups sugar
1 ¼ tsp baking soda
2 extra-large eggs
½ cup sour cream

Instructions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Lightly dust 2 greased 8-inch pans with cocoa powder.
In a heavy saucepan or microwave oven, heat butter, beer, and cocoa powder until butter melts. Cool.
Sift dry ingredients together, add the beer-cocoa mixture and beat thoroughly on medium speed for 1 minute.
Add eggs and sour cream and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
Pour batter into prepared pans and bake at 350 degrees for 24 to 30 minutes.
Place pans on wire rack to cool.
Spread each layer with a thin coat of chocolate frosting.
Stack the layers and cover the sides with frosting.
Serve.

Citrus Lager Marinade (Perfect for fish or chicken)

Ingredients:
1 ½ cup lager
1 tsp cracked black pepper
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 stalk lemon grass
Pinch of salt

Instructions:
Slice lemongrass length-wise and remove center stalk and discard outer, fibrous husk.
Coarsely chop stalk and place in food processor with ingredients.
Blend well.
When settled, marinate fish or chicken up to two hours - no longer for fish because the citric acids will cure the fish.

Cooking Recipe - Fresh Greek Style Salad Recipe

A salad is very quick to prepare. Most people have their own ideas of what to put into a salad. Some salads you may have seen do not look appetizing. They just look plain and boring. That is probably why many people in the western world don't eat enough of these healthy salads. Well, let's do our bit to change that. Here is a recipe for you that is the just opposite. It looks good, tastes good and it is really good for you.

We were camping with some friends and we decided to have a barbeque. We chose what meats to have but struggled to decide what to accompany them. My friend told me that when he went to Greece on holiday he really enjoyed their fresh salads. With the ingredients that he remembered we set about to duplicate the recipe. After we had finished preparing the salad it looked really appetizing.

Here is that recipe for you and I hope you enjoy your fresh Greek style salad as much as we did.

INGREDIENTS

(serves 4)

4 large tomatoes cut into wedges
1 large cucumber
2 large red peppers
1 red onion
Approx 16-20 green and black olives de-stoned
250g of good firm feta cheese
1 small handful of fresh parsley leaves
Approx 1 dozen fresh mint leaves
125ml of extra virgin oil
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
1 clove of garlic crushed

METHOD

Take the cucumber, peel it first and cut it in half, length ways. Take out the seeds and then cut into small cubes. Cut the red peppers across into slices. Remove all the seeds and pith. Finely slice the onion. Cut the feta cheese into small cubes. Once you have done this, place the tomatoes, cucumber, red peppers, onion, olives, feta in a large salad bowl. Add half the parsley and mint leaves. Gently mix together.

Put the olive oil, lemon juice and crushed garlic into a container with a lid. Add a little salt and pepper to season. Shake until mixed thoroughly. Pour the dressing over the salad. Gently turn over with a large spoon or spatula to cover the salad evenly with the dressing. Sprinkle the remaining parsley and mint leaves over the salad.

This recipe is a rich source of vitamins, minerals. It is also very good for your heart especially when using tomatoes, red peppers, olives and olive oil. The feta cheese is also a good source of vitamins and calcium. The reason being, it is made from goats milk. Therefore it has far less fat than cows milk which again is beneficial to the heart and weight watching. All fresh food and highly nutritious. Enjoy.

How to Cook Rump Steak

Rump steak (or round steak) is meat that is cut, literally, from the rump of the cow. If you were to guess that this is probably a tough cut of meat, you would be right. On the other hand, it is quite flavorful.

The question is, how can we cook out some of that toughness--or at least avoid adding to the toughness by drying it out--so we can enjoy the rump steak's excellent taste?

A good way to cook rump steak is to fry or grill it. A better way is to marinate it first, then fry or grill it. Here I give you one recipe for each method:

Grilled Rump Steak

Ingredients

4 thinly cut rump steaks

1/4 cup butter

Directions

1. Heat butter in a skillet until very hot. Add steaks (cook one or two at a time, depending on pan size).

2. Turn meat frequently while cooking for 8 to 10 minutes.

3. Serve steaks quickly, while still quite hot.

Marinated Grilled Rump Steak

Ingredients

4 thinly cut rump steaks

1/2 cup red wine (cabernet sauvignon)

2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 cloves minced garlic

2 teaspoons canola oil or other cooking oil

Directions

1. Place steaks in a large, shallow pan (non-corrosive only!)

2. Mix together wine, worcestershire sauce, soy sauce and garlic. Pour over the steaks.

3. Cover pan tightly with plastic wrap. Place in refrigerator for at least 4 hours and preferably overnight.

4. Heat oil in a skillet until very hot.

5. Grill the steaks for 3 to 5 minutes on each side, depending on thickness. Add some of the remaining liquid from the marinade pan and let it bubble before removing from heat.

6. Serve rump steaks quickly, while still quite hot.

How to Make Crockpot Soup Recipes Using Chicken

There are a lot of different ways to prepare chicken, including frying, sauteing, steaming, grilling, poaching and more. Chicken can also be cooked in a crockpot and since you need to add liquid to crockpot recipes because of the long, slow cooking time, this makes crockpot soup recipes a great idea.

Meat cooks well in a crockpot. Not only does it slowly tenderize over a period of hours but the flavor of slow cooked meat is incredible. It will soak up the flavors of all the other ingredients you use to make the crockpot soup recipe.

Cooking Chicken in a Crockpot

The best thing to do when making a chicken soup recipe is to chop the chicken into smaller pieces and brown it in a skillet in some butter or oil before adding it to the crockpot. Not every recipe for crockpot chicken soup will tell you to do this of course but sealing the chicken in this way helps to lock in the juices and it also gives the chicken an attractive golden brown color.

There are also plenty of recipes for chicken soup in a crockpot where you simply add every ingredient to the crockpot, give the mixture a good stir and leave it alone for ten hours. Recipes like these are fantastic when you have a busy day and you are not sure what time exactly you will be home.

Some of the more modern crockpots have a "keep warm" setting which is very handy. If you are more than an hour late your soup will stop cooking and keep itself nice and warm for you.

Crockpot Lamb Soup Recipe

Just to prove that chicken is not the only meat you can use to make delicious crockpot soup recipes, here is a wonderfully easy recipe for slow cooked lamb soup. The flavor of this soup is amazing.

This soup takes all day to cook in the crockpot so it is the perfect meal if you plan to be out working all day and you want to get home to a house that smells incredible and a meal which is all ready to serve. This recipe serves eight people but you can halve it if you want.

You will need:

• 1 1/2 lbs sliced lamb


• 3 sliced carrots


• 1 bay leaf


• 1/4 teaspoon salt


• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper


• 8 whole peppercorns


• 2 halved and sliced leeks


• 1 package French onion soup mix


• 1 sliced red onion


• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce


• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill


• 2 tablespoons olive oil


• 2 tablespoons dry gravy mix


• 3 sliced celery stalks


• 1 lb can chopped tomatoes


• 3 pints vegetable bouillon

How to make it:

Sprinkle salt and pepper over the lamb, then brown it all over in a skillet in the oil, cooking it in batches. Add everything to the crockpot except the dill and stir well. Cook on low for eight to ten hours. Add the dill, switch off the crockpot and stir and leave the lamb soup to rest for ten minutes. Stir it once more then serve hot.

Benefits of Using the Slow Cooker and Slow Cooker Recipes

The slow cooker or crock pot has become one of the most useful appliances in the kitchen for every family. The slow cooker has gained much popularity due to the many benefits of using it. The slow cooker can help to prepare a great variety of delicious food. There are many slow cooker recipes widely available to provide more choices of the types of dishes you can prepare using the slow cooker. By simply following the recipes, you can cook many types of delicious meals for your family everyday.

The best benefit of using the slow cooker for cooking is that the dishes it prepares are nutritious. This is because mainly fresh, wholesome ingredients are used in the cooking. The ingredients are cooked at a low temperature for a long period of time, thus they become extremely tender and delicious. As there is little evaporation, the food will not dry out. The natural juices from the meats and vegetables are retained in the pot, thus, the cooked food are nutritious as well as tasty. Hence, if you are looking for healthy food, using the slow cooker to cook your meals is a way to attain it.

Although using the gas stove, electric burner or grill are fast and efficient methods to do cooking, these methods require attention and supervision. For example, if a piece of meat is left unattended on a hot grill, it will become charred. If stirring is not done regularly while simmering tomato sauce in a pot, sticking and burning will occur at the bottom of the pot. Similarly, if a tray of butter cookies is placed in a heated oven, the cookies will blacken if they are not removed on time. Hence, we see that although these methods are fast but they require monitoring and the food items need to be stirred, flipped or turned. The advantage of the slow cooker is that it is able to do the cooking without any human intervention. The cooker takes the heat and indirectly applies it to the food so that the food cooked slowly and evenly. As the slow cooker uses low heat, the food is not burned without stirring.

Due to the fact that slow cookers are safe, easy to use, and require no attention while cooking, people who use it save much time and effort in cooking their meals. Nowadays, many working adults avoid cooking because they are either too tired after a long day of work, or they have no time to do so. The slow cooker provides them with the convenience of being able to work and still can enjoy eating home-cooked food without having to spend time in the cooking process. In the morning before leaving for work, they can easily place all the food ingredients in the slow cooker and set it on low. By the time they come back from work in the evening, a tasty, nutritious, home-cooked dish will be ready for them. They can choose to add a salad or whole-grain bread to the dish and it will form a complete meal. Thus, by using the slow cooker, people can spend their time at work, in school or anywhere enjoying some recreation, and still have the opportunity to eat nutritious food.

During hot weather, when using the stove and oven for cooking may increase the heat in the surroundings, the slow cooker provides a good alternative. Furthermore, the slow cooker is an economical appliance to use for cooking. It uses as little electricity as a 75-watt light bulb and substantially less energy as compared to an electric oven.

As you can see from the above, crock pot cooking has many benefits. If you wish to enjoy fully the advantages of slow cooker cooking, it is best to equip yourself with a book of slow cooker recipes. It can provide you with a great variety of ideas so that you can prepare delicious and sumptuous meals everyday. For more information, please visit Slow Cooker and Slow Cooker Recipes [http://www.internetbizcenter.com/crockpotrecipe/index.htm]

Chief Recommendations For Choosing and Cooking Beef

The beef can be almost the same softness as veal, or, on the contrary, very rigid - all depends on breed of the animal, its age and specificity of the muscles chosen for preparation. Muscles of a mature animal have larger fibres and stronger connecting fabrics in comparison with muscles of young bull calf. Therefore the beef is potentially more rigid than veal. If you familiar with beef parts, you can easily determine the best use of beef part in cooking. There are eight major beef cuts. Remember, each part has its special tastes, therefore careful selection of recipes combined with knowledge of beef cuts is important.

Always choose quality organic beef. Natural beef will improve taste qualities of your dish. In Northern America, Australia and Argentina, for example, beef is made as a result of highly productive meat breeds, grazed by huge herds on fenced pastures. In the European countries rather small farms combine manufacture of meat with manufacture of milk. This helps to assure high quality standards of organic beef.

If you like to cook meat, like I do -- you know how important to have the right cut of beef before you even start cooking. Rich flavor of cooked beef depends on fat in the meat's muscle, while tenderness comes from different cooking methods (slow or fast cooking, dry heat or wet heat).  Want to cook meat professionally? All you need is to control the loss of moisture in meat while cooking. Usually short stage and high temperature cooking is perfect for beef, especially steaks.

Cooking With Eggs

We use eggs in so many recipes. They are a staple in the kitchen.

An egg can be cooked alone - boiled, poached, fried, scrambled.
Or used as an ingredient in baking, batters and cakes.
Alternatively use an egg to thicken sauces or to add air to lighten dishes.

The egg is truly amazing. And without it - well our menus sure would be dull.

But do you know much about the egg?

Chances are that you have never even given it a thought. Well it is time you did.

The most critical aspect of the egg is - it's air content. (bet you thought I was going to say the shell).

When first laid, the egg has barely any air inside a tiny air pocket. However, because the shell is porous, it allows air to penetrate. And as time passes, air moves inside the egg and the air pocket grows.

As this air pocket enlarges, the moisture in the egg evaporates. So, as the egg gets older the yolk becomes less plump and flatter and the white separates and spreads.

And this all impacts on cooking. Depending on how you intend on using the egg determines how fresh an egg you should use.

If you fry an older egg, you will end with a flat 'pancake' instead of a neat rounded egg.

The more stale an egg the more fragile and difficult to separate it will be.

As opposed to the fresh egg, which has a tight and tough inner skin. This makes peeling the shell off the boiled egg very frustrating. As the egg ages with skin relaxes allowing the shell to peel much easier.

If you are lucky enough to have your own hens, then you know how old your eggs are. But what if you have to buy them?

The easiest method of tell how old an egg is, is to put the egg in a dish of water.

If it sinks and lies horizontally - very fresh.

If it sinks but tilts slightly - about 1 week old.

If it sinks but stands vertically - older, stale.

But if it floats - it's off and be careful not to crack the shell.

Some people prefer brown eggs and some white. But nutritionally they are the same.

The yolks will also vary in color depending of the diet of the hen.

Do you find your eggs crack when boiling? Well, follow these simple steps to get perfect eggs, every time.

Use 2 week old eggs and ensure they are at room temperature. Make as pin prick in the rounded flat end of the egg - this allows any steam that might build up to escape.

Use as small a saucepan as possible, so the eggs fit in snuggly - you don't want to much space otherwise they may bounce around and crack.

Bring to the boil but only simmer do not boil vigorously. Follow these tips and your eggs won't crack.

So, for frying and poaching use as fresh an egg as possible. When the recipe calls for eggs to be separated, use fresh eggs as well. But if you want easy to peel eggs use the older ones. And when it comes to scrambling, fresher is best but older ones will do.

Happy Egg Cooking

Lisa "The Crock Cook"

Delicious Crockpot Recipes For The Family

For the working family these recipes work a wonder. Come home, relax, and enjoy a meal you only slaved 10 to 20 min prep in the morning.

Recipe #1:

To Die For Pot Roast

3 1/2 to 4 LB Rump Roast

1 Bag Of Baby Cut Carrots

3 Large Onions

5 Potatoes

1 Can Of Cream Of Mushroom Soup

1 Packet Of French Onion Soup Mix

1/4 Cup Water

Place rump roast in the crockpot. Place the baby carrots around it. Chop up onions into quarters. Slice up potatoes into small chunks, and place around the beef. Add mushroom soup and the onion soup mix. Mix about a 1/4 cup of water into the crockpot. Depending upon how thick you like your gravy mix you can add more water. Place crockpot on low for 8 hours. Stirring occasionally. Beef just pulls right apart. Serve with a nice side salad or some garlic bread. You will be coming back for seconds, thirds and fourths.

Recipe #2:

Moist Meatloaf In the Crockpot

2 Eggs

3/4 Cup Milk

2/3 Cup Seasoned Bread Crumbs

2 TSP Dried Minced Onion or Garlic

1 TSP Salt

1/2 Teaspoon Marjoram

1-1/2 Ground Turkey

1/4 Cup Ketchup

2 TBSP Brown Sugar

1/2 TSP Worcestershire

In a large bowl, combine the first 6 ingredients. Crumble the beef over the mixture and mix well. Shape into a round loaf; place in the crockpot. Cover and cook on low for about 6 hours. In a small mixing bowl, combine the ketchup, brown sugar, and worcestershire sauce. Gently pour it over the meat loaf. Cook for about 15 minutes or until heated through. Let stand for about 15 - 20 minutes before cutting. Serve with some garlic mashed potatoes and your favorite vegetable, and your family will think it was the best meatloaf ever.

Recipe #3:

Cheesy Chili Dogs

1 full pack of hotdogs

2 cans of chilli

1 can condensed cheddar cheese soup

1 can chopped green chillies

2 - 3 Dashes of hot sauce ( if you like it spicier judge accordingly)

10 hot dog buns

1 large onion chopped

Toppings:

Shredded cheddar cheese

Sour Cream

Salsa

Place the hot dogs in a slow cooker. In a bowl combine the chilli, soup and green chillies; pour completely over the hot dogs. Cover and cook on low for about 4 - 5 hours. Serve the hot dogs in the buns, you then top it with the chilli mixture, and onion. Then add the toppings you want. Great for kids. It can be cut up and served with Macaroni and Cheese.

The 10 Most Popular French Recipes

Despite new trends, hype and marketing, tradition has never been stronger. In France, good food still means authentic cooking by using natural products from diverse regions. This is how we celebrate human being by offering the best food to all our senses. Cooking home-made food and eating at the table make your appetite grow stronger. The challenge is to combine ingredients together to get the best taste out of them. However anyone from anywhere can explore the world of french cooking. To start with, let's find out what french people enjoy to eat.

Here are the top 10 most popular recipes in France:

Roast Chicken

Indeed roast chicken is not a notorious french recipe but cooked everywhere around the world from Asia and Africa to America. However it is the most popular french dish. Roast chicken is not stuffed inside. The secret is to baste the poultry several times during roasting with butter and cooking oil and to add an onion in the roasting pan. Roast chicken is traditionally served with potatoes and green beans.

Boeuf bourguignon

The most famous beef stew in France. Boeuf bourguignon is a traditional recipe from Burgundy. A recipe that french people use to cook at least once every winter. The beef meat is cooked in a red wine sauce, obviously a red wine from Burgundy. Bacon, onions, mushrooms and carrots add flavor to the recipe. But thyme, garlic and beef stock are essential to cook a good boeuf bourguignon.

Mussels mariniere

A typical summer recipe very popular along the Atlantic and Mediterranean coast. Mussels are fresh and cooked in a white wine sauce with parsley, thyme, bay leaf and onion. It takes only 5 minutes to cook a tasteful mussels mariniere. The secret is to season carefully the meal and to discard any mussels that don't look good enough.

Sole meuniere

Although sole is an expensive fish, the taste is so elegant that it is considered as the noblest fish. Sole meuniere is a recipe from Normandy. The fish is cooked in a butter sauce with a little bit of flour and lemon juice. Sole is traditionally served with rice or green vegetables.

Pot au feu

A typical family meal coming once again from Normandy. Pot au feu is a boiled beef with pork, chicken and vegetables. It takes about 4 hours an a half to cook as the beef has to simmer slowly to extract all its flavor. Pot au feu is also called Potee Normande in France.

Sauerkraut

Quite similar to the german sauerkraut, the french sauerkraut called choucroute comes from Alsace. However the french recipe can be traced back to 6 centuries ago ! Sauerkraut is a fermented cabbage. Commonly sauerkraut includes sausages, pork knuckle and bacon. Two essential ingredients are alsatian white wine and juniper berries.

Veal stew

Called blanquette de veau in France, this is another stew recipe from Normandy. The veal meat simmers in white sauce - as blanquette from blanc stands for white in french - with mushrooms and onions. The white sauce is made of egg yolks, whipping cream and lemon juice. Veal stew is usually served with rice.

Lamb navarin

Another stew but this one is made of lamb meat. It is also called spring lamb as it comes with green vegetables available in spring. Navarin comes from navet which stands for turnips in french. Other ingredients are tomatoes, lamb stock and carrots. This stew takes less time to simmer than any other.

Cassoulet

A strange recipe that english people often confuse with their traditional breakfast! A traditional meal from south west of France. Each village has its own recipe but it always includes beans and meats. Cassoulet is a rich combination of white beans and depending on the village lamb, pork, mutton or sausage meat. Cassoulet is the cornerstone of the french paradox study describing why people from south west of France suffer less than others from infarcts.

Bouillabaisse

Bouillabaisse is closely linked with the city of Marseille on the Mediterranean coast. The recipe is a fish soup from local fish and seafood products including crabs, scorpion fish, monk fish and others. Provencal herbs and olive oil are essential. For a long time, the recipe was a secret jealously kept by the people from Marseille.

Fun Recipes For Kids - Rock Cakes

This is not only a great after school snack it's fun and easy for the kids to make as well.

You will need a moderate oven for this recipe so set your temperature and pre-heat your oven before you start.

What you will need:

1 Medium Sized Mixing Bowl

1 Small Mixing Bowl

1 Knife

1 Fork

1 Dessertspoon

1 Baking Tray

1 Flour Sieve

1 Pinch Of Salt

½ lb of Self-Rasing Flour

3 Ounces Of Butter

3 Ounces Of Sugar

4 Ounces Of Sultanas (or Currants)

2 Tablespoons Of Milk

1 Egg

How To Make:

Start by lightly greasing your baking tray and then put it aside (out of the way) until you need it.

Sift the flour and the salt together into your medium mixing bowl. Rub in the butter until the mixture starts looking like breadcrumbs. Then add in the sugar and sultanas and mix it all together with your knife.

With your fork lightly beat your egg and milk together in the small mixing bowl and then add them to your flour and sultana mixture. Stir it all together with your knife until you have a dough.

With your dessertspoon grab spoonfuls of the mixture and put them on your greased baking tray. You don't need to make perfect round shapes. When you put them on the tray remember that they will get bigger while they are cooking so spread them about 1 to 2 inches apart.

After you've done that carefully put them in a moderate oven for about 10 to 15 minutes. When done carefully take the tray out and allow them to cool before eating them.

Texas Chili Recipes - Easy & Quick To Prepare!

These texas chili recipes are quick, easy and delicious. Just check these out and I'm sure you'll be amazingly surprised.

So here we go for some texas chili recipes:

>> Texas Chili

1 1/2 ts garlic salt

1 3/4 c tomato sauce

1 c chopped onion

1 c chopped green pepper

1 t dried oregano

1/2 c cooking oil

1/4 c chopped jalapeno peppers

2 1/2 lb cubed beef stew meat beer enough to marinate

2 tb chili powder

4 c chopped fresh tomatoes

4 ts ground cumin

4 ts salt

5 1/2 c cooked pinto beans drained

5 ts hot pepper sauce

Marinate the beef in beer for at least 8 hours. Drain beef; pat dry on paper towels. Brown in hot oil in a large kettle. Add green pepper, onion, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and beans; cook on medium heat for 1 hour; add spices, jalapeno peppers and hot pepper sauce; cook 2 hours longer.

>> Texas Chunky Chili

1 jalapeno pepper finely chopped

1 stalk celery chopped

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/4 cup chili powder

2 large onions chopped

2 teaspoons dried whole oregano

28 ounces whole tomatoes un drained and chopped

3 1/2 cups water

3 cloves garlic minced

3 pounds boneless chuck roast diced

6 ounces tomato paste

Sauté, onion, celery, garlic, and jalapeno pepper in hot oil until tender; set vegetables aside. Combine meat, oregano, and cumin in a dutch oven. Cook until meat is browned; drain well. Add onion mixture, tomatoes, tomato paste, chili powder, salt, and water to meat mixture. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

That's it for today! If you want more texas chili recipes, be sure to visit us today at:

Healthy Crock Pot Recipes With Easy Preparation

The other day I was looking through my grocer's weekly sale flyer and I found myself thinking, "The easier the preparation, the worse it is for you." Think about fast food. No preparation, but completely unhealthy.

I continued my thoughts through meal preparations - frozen TV dinners, frozen pizza, frozen "meal in a bag", boxed dinners, the list goes on and on. We are so concerned with doing things quickly we are hindering our health by jamming our bodies full of preservatives and things with names too long to state and too difficult to pronounce.

I pictured my grocery store, which wasn't difficult since I'm usually there at least twice a week. I love my grocer's produce section, seeing all the fresh fruits and vegetables; I usually spend most of my time there. However, thinking of all the isles that follow, my thoughts were once again confirmed. Packaged food after packaged food - even in the organic isle! I know that cooking with natural ingredients is the best way to go, but how are we to do it if we're bombarded with packaged, boxed, preserved food?

Thinking about my own cooking, I know that I use more "pre-packaged" items than I probably should. For convenience sake, I often used frozen vegetables and canned tomatoes. I feed my kids boxed macaroni and cheese. However, they don't eat frozen dinners, ready-made frozen chicken, and we never eat at fast food restaurants.

These thoughts drove me to research my own recipes; were there a handful of crock pot recipes with extremely easy preparation that are healthy? I did find a bunch, and although the recipes with canned soups tend to be higher in sodium, I believe I found a nice balance between easy preparation and health. Plus, every recipe on the list has 10 ingredients or less. You can view these recipes at http://www.natalies-recipes.com/website/easy-healthy-recipes.aspx.

When it comes right down to it, we want to be healthy and feed our families healthy meals. However, our busy lives often take over and prevent us from doing so. I hope that I have offered you some options to avoid the frozen dinners and fast food restaurants and create healthy meals with ease.

Crockpot Recipes Hold the Key to Stress Free Cooking

A few years ago, my crock pot would collect dust in my cupboard waiting for me to make chili or a pot roast. Now it's a rare evening when you don't see it on my counter with the night's dinner in it.

I know that many of you can relate to what it's like in my household from 4:00pm on. After getting 4 kids an after school snack, I am helping a 10 year old with homework, playing dominoes with twin 4 year olds, and chasing after a 2 year old. How on earth could I be expected to do all of this while preparing dinner and not be completely frazzled by the time we sat down to eat? Finally I discovered the answer.

Now each morning I get up and, while drinking my coffee, decide what's for dinner that evening. I take meat out of the freezer to thaw in cold water in the sink, verify remaining ingredients, and play with my 2 year old. Then I leisurely take 10-15 minutes mid morning to throw ingredients into a pot and flip a switch.

I go about the rest of my day relaxed, knowing that dinner will be a cinch. Sure enough, dinner time comes and all I need to do is spoon food onto some plates, sit down, and enjoy!

Reasons why crock pot cooking is virtually stress free:

-Clean up is easy; there aren't numerous pots and pans to wash, just one stoneware pot and maybe a cutting board and knife.

-Minimal preparation is required; just a few minutes each morning.

-It's really difficult to overcook things in a crock pot. Plus, now there are crock pots that will automatically switch to a "keep warm" setting once the cooking time is done.

-Crock pots are wonderful for cheaper cuts of meat. Cooking for a large family, I'm conscientious of my grocery bill. Because crock pots cook meat over a long period of time at low heat, tougher cuts of meat turn out tender and juicy.

-You're not feeding your family fast food or calling the pizza delivery guy again; they are getting quality home cooked meals.

-Crock pot cooking is perfect for any type of mom. Those who work out of the office can quickly fix the meal in the morning or even prepare it the night before and refrigerate.

-Different people can eat at different times. Let's face it, with busy schedules many families can't eat together during the week. A crock pot keeps the meal warm for your toddlers to eat at 5pm, your high school kids to eat at 8pm, and your husband to grab a 10pm snack.

So pull it out of your cupboard, dust it off, and enjoy the wonderful aromas that will fill your home as dinner draws near.

Cooking Ahead For the Freezer - Frequently Asked Questions

The idea of cooking a month's worth of meals to store ahead in the freezer is becoming increasingly popular in this modern world of two incomes, daycare, sports, skyrocketing costs, and busy families. The following are several frequently asked questions (FAQ's) about this time- and money-saving method of meal preparation:

Q) Are all the meals casseroles or pasta with sauce recipes?

A) You can freeze almost anything. Soups, casseroles, sandwiches, meals to serve over rice, chicken dishes, meatloaf, etc. To get an idea of the types of things that freeze well, take a stroll down the freezer aisle next time you're at your local grocery store and notice the wide range of frozen items available.

Q) I'm a vegetarian. Any special tips?

A) There shouldn't be any problem adapting this method to vegetarian menus. Prepare a recipe and try freezing a single portion before you attempt a larger batch of freezer meals. (This tip applies to any recipe you haven't tried in the freezer.) You can substitute TVP (texturized vegetable protein) in many recipes calling for ground meats. Cooked beans and bean-based meals usually freeze well.

Q) Are there special pots and pans, utensils or appliances I should have on hand to make a monthly cooking marathon session go easier?

A) The following are nice to have on a big cooking day: a food processor for chopping large quantities of onions, celery, etc; good quality sharp knives; several large heavy stock pots; long handled spoons for stirring and mixing; an electric can opener; a slow cooker; a salad shooter works well for grating large amounts of cheese. If you're cooking ahead breakfast items, you might want a waffle iron to make homemade frozen waffles (much tastier than the ones you buy from the freezer case). You don't necessarily need to purchase all of these items. If possible, borrow some of the items. I borrow my neighbor's large stock pot each cooking day.

The following are some frequently asked money-related questions about cooking ahead for the freezer:

Q) I don't have much extra money but I would like to have separate freezer. Any suggestions?

A) Ask friends, relatives and neighbors to keep an eye out for people moving out of state or updating their kitchen. I've known several people who've found perfectly good freezers for free just by making a few phone calls. Check the newspaper classified ads under appliances and check the garage sale listings for any selling appliances. Check local garage sales, yard sales, appliance repair stores. Try auctions of dented white-goods.

Q) If I do a complete 30 meal cooking session, will it cost a lot for the initial investment in a full month's worth of food?

A) It depends on how elaborate your meals and how much you cook from scratch. Convenience foods are much more expensive (and less healthy) than their home-made counterparts. It might cost a bit more the first time, but because you'll be purchasing some items in bulk, the cost could actually be quite a bit less than you'd expect. If coming up with the initial investment for a complete month of meals is difficult, start out with twice-a-month cooking.

Christmas Recipes: Edible Gifts No.1 of 8 - Florentines

Christmas recipe makes: 12

Calories per biscuit: 170

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 8-10 minutes

Not suitable for freezing

Christmas recipe ingredients:

• cherries, 25 g (1 oz)
  


• almonds, flaked 40 g (1.5 oz)
  


• butter, unsalted 60 g (2.5 oz)
  


• sugar, caster 50 g (2 oz)
  


• cream, double 30 ml (2 tbsp)
  


• sunflower seeds, 25 g (1 oz)
  


• mixed peel, chopped 20 g (0.75 oz)
  


• sultanas, 20 g (0.75 oz)
  


• flour, plain white 15 g (0.5 oz)
  


• chocolate, dark plain pieces 125 g (4 oz)
  

Christmas recipe instructions:

1. Take the almonds and crush slightly. Prepare roughly cut pieces of cherries.
   
   


2. Prepare a solution of sugar in the butter and bring to the boil. Away from the heat, mix in flour, almonds, cherries, sultanas, mixed peel, sunflower seeds and cream.
   
   


3. Grease a sheet of baking paper and place heaped teaspoonful amounts of the mixture from step 2 onto it ensuring there is enough room for expansion during cooking.
   
   


4. Bake till the edges are golden brown. 180 degrees centigrade (gas mark 4, 350 F). About 7 minutes. Take out of the oven and use a plain large metal biscuit cutter to make rounds by pushing into the biscuits. Bake again until golden brown.
   
   


5. Cool for a couple of minutes before removing to a wire rack for complete cooling.
   
   


6. Repeat steps 3-5 for the remaining mixture from step 2.
   
   


7. Prepare melted chocolate by heating in a bowl over water at boiling point. Then take each biscuit and dip it into the choclate so all the edge is covered. Place on non-stick paper till cooled.
   

All You Need To Know When Cooking A Turkey

When it comes to that time of year that everyone is looking forward to because of the delicious food that is served, there is always at least one person that is slightly tense about it and that would be the person who is going to be cooking a turkey.

Although it really is a simple job, a lot of people tend to get a little stressed out about cooking a turkey and it is not because it is a hard job, but because the turkey is the thanksgiving dinner and many people feel that if the turkey gets ruined, that thanksgiving is ruined. Even though that is not the case, a lot of people cannot get that thought out of their minds.

Remember, that cooking a turkey is not a hard job in itself and that is a fact but it is strictly the anticipation of whether or not it is going to come out right that is the problem. But when you think about it, your oven is actually doing more work than you are so when thinking about how hard cooking a turkey is, think about how much work your oven has to go through. All you really have to do is dress it and place it in the oven and the rest of the work from cooking a turkey is done by the oven while you prepare other things such as side dishes.

The Most Important Thing

Although messing up the turkey in that it came out a little dry or without a lot of flavor is heartbreaking to some; that is not the real danger to consider when cooking a turkey. When you are getting ready to begin cooking a turkey, you have to make sure that you have fully read over all of the instructions. By not following these instructions, you are either going to have a bird that does not taste all that great or you could end up giving your guests food poisoning.

When roasting a turkey, make sure that it has reached the proper temperature of 165 degrees by sticking a cooking thermometer into it. Any reading lower then that, you need to put it back in. All in all, when those few things are followed, cooking a turkey does not have to be anything to worry about or stress over. You can do it just as millions and millions and of people before you have done it. Cooking a turkey will soon become second nature to you and you will be a pro before you know it.

Kitchen & Cooking Safety - Tips To A Safe Cooking Environment

Safety means to be free from risk or danger in your working environment. People who engage in cooking activities make good cook, not only with the delicious dishes they turn out, but also their level of home keeping ability. A major reason people slip, trip and fall in the kitchen is their poor housekeeping ability. Many situations can cause a slip, trip or fall. They include: wet spots, grease, or polished floor, loose flooring or carpeting, uneven walking surface, clutter, electrical cords, etc.

To enhance a safe working or cooking environment, keep the walk ways and stair case clear of scrap and debris, ruts, holes and obstructions. Remember always to lean up spills of oil, grease, or other liquid immediately. Don't procrastinate. But if cleaning could not be effected immediately, be sure to have it covered with absorbent material until proper cleaning is effected. And please keep cleaning materials away from food.

Keep electrical wires out of the way. Coil up cords, extension cords, line, hoses, etc when not in use. Close cupboards and cabinets when not in use. And ensure proper and adequate lighting inside and outside the kitchen. Ensure there is no gas leakage and if there be found any leakage, fix it immediately. With gas leakage, distant ignition is possible as well as inhalation. This affects the nervous system and can lead to asphyxiation. In the case of fire, shut off supply, but if not possible and no risk to surrounding, let it burn out. However, evacuate danger zone.

Check that all thermostats are functional. Oil temperature must be at recommended temperature and fryers must be filled to the correct level, as indicated in the operator's manual. There is a danger of possible burn in the case of oil splattering, and so, ensure no water presence in the food. Do not rest containers on the edge of the fryers. Avoid hot water spills, it can cause serious burns. Check container temperature before picking up a pot or kettle from the stove and keep flammable materials away from high temperature and open flame.

Remember to switch off fryers, oven, grills etc before cleaning commences. These are potential fire areas. Even a small fire can become dangerous and out of control. And in case of fire out break, do not attempt to use water to put out fire. Use fire extinguisher instead.

Broken glasses must be disposed immediately to prevent injury. Chipped glasses can cause cut and infectious diseases. Always wear rubber soled or safety shoes. This helps to ward off so many dangers.

Never forget all the necessary safety tips you have learnt so far. Clean oil spills and grease on the floor, make the runway free, and observe a careful handling of electrical gadget, hot oil as well as hot water. Keep fire extinguisher nearby and dispose broken glasses. Wears rubber soled shoes or safety shoes.

Safe cooking.

Adapting Your Recipes for the Slow Cooker

Now that you've started using your crock pot slow cooker regularly, you're probably wondering how you can adapt your traditional recipes to use in a crock pot. The ease of preparing a meal with a slow cooker has literally changed the lives of busy families. With the help of their slow cookers, families are eating healthier and consuming less greasy fast-food.

Here are some hints for adapting your favorite traditional recipes for crock pot cooking.

1.) Add vegetables like peas and broccoli to your recipe in the last 15 - 60 minutes. If you're using frozen vegetables, remember to add them to your crock pot recipe during the last 30 minutes.

2.) Make sure to soak your dried beans so that they are completely softened before adding them to your recipe. If your recipe includes tomatoes, salt, or sugar, then your beans should definitely be soaked before cooking.

3.) If your recipe calls for pasta, any kind of seafood, milk or other dairy products, then only add them during the last 60 minutes of cooking, and cook pasta to just a bit tender before adding them to the cooker. Condensed cream soups are good alternatives to dairy products because they can withstand longer cooking times.

4.) When cooking a recipe with rice, add an extra ¼ cup liquid for every ¼ cup of rice.

5.) Always remember to reduce the liquid in your recipe by ½ when you're using a traditional recipe in your crock pot.

6.) A good idea for cooking stews and soups that call for vegetables is to put the veggies on the bottom and sides of the slow cooker and then place your meat on top.

Traditional Recipe to Slow Cooker Use:

15-30min traditional = 1.5-2 hrs High or 4-6 hrs Low in Crock pot

35-45min traditional = 3-4 hrs High or 6-10 hrs Low in Crock pot

50min-3hrs traditional = 4-6 hrs High or 8-18 hrs Low in Crock pot

If you're like most families, your slow cooker supplies lots of food per meal, so you'll very likely have leftovers. Always remember to never reheat your leftovers in the crock pot. One of the additional rewards of slow cooking is the ability to make lots of food and freeze for future meals. Happy slow cooking!

Crockpot Recipes For Summer Entertaining

These crockpot recipes will keep your kitchen cool in the summer heat. Bring any of these delights to your summer parties, and your friends will be delighted, drooling, and lining up for the recipe, - and seconds...

Appetizer:

PIZZA DIP

1 large cream cheese softened

1 jar pizza sauce

1 small can chopped olives

1 medium onion chopped

1 pkg. sliced pepperoni

(and what ever else your pizza loving heart desires!)

1 pkg. grated cheese for pizza

Spread cream cheese in the bottom of slow cooker/Crock Pot. Then mix up the pizza sauce, onion, olives and pepperoni and spread on top of the cream cheese. Sprinkle with the pizza cheese and cook on low until the cheese on top melts. Serve with tortilla chips.

Entree

CHICKEN WINGS IN TERIYAKI SAUCE

* 3 pounds chicken wings (16 wings)

* 1 large onion, chopped

* 1 cup soy sauce

* 1 cup brown sugar

* 2 teaspoons ground ginger

* 2 cloves garlic, minced

* 1/4 cup dry cooking sherry

Rinse chicken and pat dry. Cut off and discard wing tips. Cut each wing at joint to make two sections. Place wing parts on broiler pan. Broil 4-5 inches from the heat for 20 minutes, 10 minutes for each side or until chicken is brown. Transfer chicken to slow cooker/Crock Pot. Mix together onion, soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, garlic and cooking sherry in bowl. Pour over chicken wings. Cover and cook on Low 5-6 hours or on HIGH 2-3 hours. Stir chicken wings once to ensure wings are evenly coated with sauce. Serve from Slow Cooker. Makes about 32 pieces.

Dessert:

DECADENT CHOCOLATE DELIGHT

1 (18.25 ounce) box chocolate cake mix

8 ounces sour cream

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup water

4 eggs

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1 small box chocolate flavor instant pudding and pie filling mix

Lightly grease inside of crockpot. Combine all ingredients in large bowl. Pour into crockpot. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours.

Serve hot or warm with ice cream.

These recipes practically make themselves. Isn't that the beauty of crockpot cooking? So get out of the kitchen, and back to your life. Haven't you worked hard enough today?

Tips For Cooking Authentic Thai Food

Like Thai Food? Love to cook? Perhaps your first attempt did not turn out like in the picture or taste like at the restaurant. Well, do not give up on cooking Thai food. Some Thai dishes may seem difficult because of a long list of ingredients and instructions. Thai cooking is all about ingredients and preparation. In Thailand, frozen or canned food is not very common. Thais love fresh ingredients. Thailand is one of the lucky countries in the world that has abundant vegetables, exotic fruit, seafood, etc. There is a well-known verse in Thailand describing abundant food resources: "Nai Nam Mee Pla Nai Na Mee Khao" which means "In river, there is fish, in the field, there is rice." This article will start with some general tips and then move in to specific tips for each food category.

Ingredients

Ingredients are the most important part of authentic Thai cooking. If you live in Thailand or in Southeast Asia, finding fresh Thai ingredients is easy. But if you live somewhere else, finding fresh ingredients can be difficult or troublesome especially for those who do not live in a city. If you decide to make Thai dishes, first invest a little of your time getting to know the ingredients. Then find the nearest Asian grocery store. If you like, call to see if they carry ingredients you are looking for. For instance, if you are looking for "Winter Melon", not all Asian grocery stores carry it. If you prefer, buying online can safe you driving time. If you cannot find fresh ingredients, try frozen and canned foods. In my opinion, most frozen products are the next best thing to fresh food. For instance, stir-fried shredded ginger with pork has two main ingredients: shredded ginger and pork. Shredded ginger? Sounds like lots of work to use fresh ginger. One might try a jar or can, but the taste and aroma of the ginger are not the same as the fresh version. It is not difficult to make shredded ginger if you have the right peeler. Try your best to find fresh produce, as it will be a good start to cooking authentic Thai dishes.

Equipment

Thais use a wok and pot in most dishes with the exception of desserts. For desserts, it is not required but it is recommended to use a bronze wok (Ka Ta Thong Lueng). Other common equipment includes a mortar and pestle. In Thailand, gas stoves are the most commonly used. Electric stoves are uncommon and not very popular because heat may not be distributed evenly. Regarding the mortar and pestle, it depends on one's desire. If you are going to cook Thai dishes very often, a mortar and pestle can become handy in your kitchen. Otherwise, using typical kitchen tools like a knife and cutting board can accomplish the same goal. Food processors or blenders are another option when it comes to making pastes.

Preparation

Preparation is also one of the keys to authentic Thai cooking. As mentioned above, Thai food focuses largely on ingredients and preparation. Preparation in particular is essential to authentic Thai food. You may spend more time preparing ingredients than you actually spend cooking. For instance, it may take about 30 minutes to prepare all ingredients for Tom Kha Gai but you only spend about 15 minutes cooking. A typical Thai dinner consists of 4-5 communal dishes. It may take up to 2 hours to prepare all ingredients, but only 1 hour to make. A few reasons follow regarding why Thais spend more time on preparation. Thais like their meat in bite size pieces. Fresh vegetables require time to wash, cut and maybe pad dry. Pounding spices and fresh herbs is also common for many dishes. Some desserts like Ta Go (sweet on the bottom layer with salty coconut topping in a pandanus basket) require lots of time in preparation starting from cleaning and cutting leaves and then making baskets. Depending on the amount of Ta Go you are making, it can take up to hours just to make those tiny baskets. Don't be discouraged by this because after preparation, the wonderful dishes are right around the corner!

Cooking to Your Taste

The art of Thai cooking has placed emphasis on the harmonious blending of various ingredients, particularly as the individual ingredients can vary by freshness and so on. Without harmony the taste and the dish fall short. The five elements of taste in Thai food are: sweet, salty, sour, spicy and bitter. When cooking Thai dishes, one may follow a recipe, but use it as a guideline when it comes to taste. Taste varies for each individual, sometimes in response to variables such as ingredient quality or occasion, and thus the tastes of the recipe author may or may not reflect one's own taste. Following a recipe is a good idea, but when it comes to taste follow your own preference. Know your ingredients and start adding flavorful items in small amounts. For instance, when it comes to curry pastes and fish sauce, some brands are saltier than others. Most Thai dishes can be fixed to some extent. If it is too sweet, adding a little bit of fish sauce will fix the problem and vice versa. If it is too sour, add a little bit of water; sugar or fish sauce will help.

Coconut Milk

Thai food and coconut milk almost always go together. Many dishes require Hua Ka Ti (first pressed coconut milk or creamy coconut milk) and/or Hang Ka Ti (second or third pressed milk or water-like coconut milk). To make fresh coconut milk, finely grated coconut meat is still steeped in warm water, not hot water. It is then squeezed until dry. The white fluid from the first press is called "Hua Ka Ti". Warm water is then added again to make the second and third pressed coconut milk, which is called "Hang Ka Ti." Finely grated coconut meat is generally used about 3 times and then discarded. Freshly pressed coconut milk has a better taste and aroma than commercial coconut milk in a can.

If you use canned coconut milk, you will need to have a can at a cold temperature because cold temperatures help separate the creamy coconut part and the water-like part. The creamy coconut milk will float to the top of the can. During hot weather, you may want to leave a can of coconut milk in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight.

Fried Rice

Good fried rice is not difficult to make. The most important part is the steamed rice. The rice should be cooked but firm, not mushy and soft. If steamed rice is soft and mushy, when it is stir-fried it will all stick together. Good rice in fried rice should be easy to break up and the grains should stay intact. So to make the steamed rice, make sure you use a little less water than normal so that the rice is dryer than normal. Keeping rice in a refrigerator for 2-3 days is another alternative, but if your rice is mushy and soft after those 2-3 days, the fried rice will also still clump together. Other keys to making good fried rice are using a wok and high heat. Heat must be evenly distributed and consistently hot all thel time. A wok is recommended for making fried rice but not required.

Curry

There are two main types of Thai curries: coconut-based and non-coconut based. Those which use coconut milk mostly have similar initial steps which include separating the coconut oil and mixing curry paste into coconut milk. These first 2 steps are keys to perfecting your curry dishes. For instance, if you are making green curry, red curry, matsaman, or kaeng kari, the very first step is bringing Hua Ka Ti (first pressed milk or creamy coconut milk) to a boil until the oil starts to separate. You do not want to boil too long because you will break Hua Ka Ti and it will look like little white balls. After adding curry paste into the coconut milk, stir until the green or red oil separates and floats to the top. Frequently stirring curry paste is required because you do not want to burn the paste. Curry paste may stick to a cooking spoon, so make sure to remove it from the spoon. During this process, if Hua Ka Ti is getting dry, add 3-4 tablespoons of Hua Ka Ti at a time to keep the curry paste from burning. After adding vegetables, do not overcook them.

Stir-fried

Most stir-fried dishes take a short time to cook, especially stir-fried vegetables. The main key to most stir-fired dishes is heat. Heat must be evenly distributed throughout the wok or pan. Most recipes will suggest to heat up vegetable oil. In this step, one must make sure that the oil is hot and spread all over the wok (up to the side) or pan. In some dishes, after adding meat and/or vegetables, the pan or wok starts to get drier, so one may add a little bit of water so that the food won't get burned. For vegetables, make sure they are not overcooked.

Desserts

Thai desserts are not too difficult to make. Some may be easier than others. Some require more patience and time than others. Many Thai desserts require one to use the same ingredients, and substitutes are not recommended. For instance, if Khanom Ta Go asks for mung bean flour, other flour substitutes usually won't work well. Khanom Bua Loy requires sticky rice flour, and one may not use multipurpose flour or tapioca flour or some other types of flour. In some desserts like potato in ginger syrup, one can use mixed types of potatoes. Khanom Kaeng Buat can consist of taro, potato and/or pumpkin. When making Thai desserts, read instructions carefully.

Ingredients and preparation are the keys to cooking authentic Thai food. Some of the first few dishes in particular may require patience. However, once you have gotten to know Thai ingredients more and more, you will find how easy it is to cook authentic Thai food. As for Thai desserts, some are very simple and easy to make and you can perfect them the first time you try. Some desserts may take practice and time to develop certain skills. Do not be discouraged by recipe directions or how beautiful a picture of a dish might be. When you decide to cook authentic Thai food, gather up some friends and enjoy your cooking. Have fun!

Cooking Without A Recipe - Tastier Step By Step

I was once one of those people that always used recipes. I was afraid to venture away from those wonderful cards and comforting pieces of paper with amounts, ingredients, and instructions. I thought I needed to be told exactly how to make something; I wouldn't increase, decrease, or substitute anything.

After awhile, I became tired of the confinement from those 4x6 cards. I began venturing into a new world - a world without recipes. I started by substituting ingredients, one vegetable for another. Then I started adding spices. Now, I view myself as a full-blown "cook"; I have no problem making dinner without a recipe. Gaining this culinary freedom can be done step by step.

Start by viewing cooking as two things - a hobby and a science experiment. Like with any hobby, the first few times you complete a project it may not turn out exactly how you expected, but you keep trying until it does. In science, you create a hypothesis, test the hypothesis by doing the experiment, and then observe what happens and come to a conclusion. If your conclusion leads you to another hypothesis, you try it again.

Cooking should be viewed the same way. Throw the ingredients together, taste the result, and decide how it is. Like a hobby, if it doesn't work the first time, try again. I often make meals and critique afterwards, asking myself, "What flavors are missing? Is the consistency right? What things would I add or remove next time to make it taste better?"

Granted, if you always use recipes venturing into the unknown world of cooking without them can be intimidating. Below I've listed a few suggestions for 'baby steps' toward cooking on your own.

- Substitute, add, or remove vegetables (and eventually other ingredients as well). This is one of the easiest things to do. If you don't like onions and the recipe calls for them, take them out. If the recipe calls for corn and you like peas, try substituting. If what you're making might be tastier with some broccoli, throw it in.

- Know what you like. This may seem simple, but know what you like. If you're constantly coming across a flavor that appeals to you, be able to figure out what that flavor is. One of the best tricks I have learned is the ability to taste something and tell what spices are in it. To do this, see the next tip.

- Use your nose. As humans we often neglect our sense of smell, which can be so helpful when cooking. Often if the dish I'm preparing 'needs something', I open my spice cupboard and start sniffing. The smells of spices go together, so trust your sense of smell and you'll come across what you need.

- Know your spices. In science, you often gather information and conduct research. Do the same with your spices - know which spices often go together and what types of cuisine use which spices.

- Get creative. Much like other hobbies, creativity is the key. Don't be afraid to get creative in your cooking either. My sister-n-law roasts squash with cinnamon and chili powder. I wouldn't have thought to put those two spices together, but the outcome was delicious.

- Trust yourself. The more you do this, the better you'll get. In the meantime, have some frozen pizzas and sandwich makings on hand just in case.

Be confident! Cooking without recipes or even using recipes as guidelines rather than strict instructions can open you up to a wonderful world of culinary freedom. You will soon find that you can create tastier meals step by step.