How to Select Melons

Whether you shake, poke or sniff them in search of perfection, ripe melons are one of the summer season’s most sensational delights.

 True, you can get them virtually year round but they’re never sweeter and juicer than in summer.  Melons of all kinds, especially the orange-flesh variety, offer unique flavor, low-calorie nutrition and lots of vitamin A.  Best of all, they take well to everything, from an appealing appetizer, such as Melons and Ham, to a mixed-fruit salad.

Melon varieties

 Honeyloupe – cream-colored rind with peach blush (avoid if waxy); sweet orange flesh.

Watermelon – mottled green skin; pink -red or yellow flesh.

Casaba – green or yellow-green hard rind; crisp, pale-green flesh.

Cantaloupe – netted skin; deep orange flesh with rich flavor.

Crenshaw – blotchy gold or yellow-green rind; tender golden flesh.

Honeydew – pale-white to yellow, smooth, hard rind; green (sometimes orange) flesh.

Selecting and storing

 Choose a melon heavy for its size with a fragrant stem end that gives under light pressure from your thumb.  (Hard melons will soften if left in a sunny spot, but they won’t get sweeter.) Once cut, melons will keep for a day or two if wrapped well in plastic and refrigerated.

Organic Spreads, Dips, and Peanut Butter Substitutes

Peanut butter has been the leading nut butter product for a long time. But the rising number of peanut allergies, including salmonella outbreak due to peanut products have caused the once lunchtime staple a great deal less appetizing. Let alone that conventional peanuts are among the most pesticide-laden crops. Fortunately, nutty food producers are formulating all types of  nutritious, tasty, and environmentally friendly alternatives.

Almond Butter

More sweet-tasting than peanut butter, almond butter contains more cholesterol-lowering monounsaturated fat, magnesium for bone-strengthening, calcium, phosphorus and antioxidant vitamin E as compared to its peanut brethren. It’s oftentimes saved from the not-so-flattering sugar and hydrogenated oils added up to several name-brand peanut butters.

To enliven plain salads, combining a teaspoon of almond butter with 3 tablespoons sherry vinegar and 1/4 cup olive oil and another 1/4 cup orange juice. Drizzle the mixture on top of your preferred greens.

Hemp Seed Butter

Verdant, earthy hemp butter is loaded down with more protein and the all important omega-3 fat alpha-linolenic acid compared to peanut butter. A late Harvard School of Public Health study indicates a diet rich in alpha-linolenic acid can cut down the risk of heart attack. And because it’s such a sturdy weed, hemp produced for seed production does not require to be bathed in chemicals to thrive. It’s savory by the spoonful, and hemp butter goes well with pure maple syrup. Smoothen the mixture onto bread, waffles, muffins, and fresh fruit.

Sunflower Seed Butter

Having a smooth texture and flavor, much like the flavor of sweet tasting peanut butter, sunflower seed butter is full of the antioxidants vitamin E and selenium, which combat against cell-damaging, disease-provoking free radicals. Many states have this butter included in their lunch programs in school since it’s safe for sufferers of peanut allergy. For frugal foodies, you’d be glad to know that sunflower butter is sensibly inexpensive. Blend together 3/4 cup sunflower butter, two garlic cloves, one cup olive oil, 1/4 cup lemon juice, one can garbanzo beans, and one teaspoon cumin seeds to create a zesty hummus.

These are just the three alternatives to peanut butter for those who suffer from peanut allergies. We all know that the incidence of allergic reaction is on the rise, that’s why the next installment will include other alternatives that will surely be as palatable as those mentioned here.

Ways to Enjoy Roasted Garlic

Set aside your newly roasted garlic to cool down a bit. Be sure it is still warm when serving. Use your fingers to squeeze out the now soft garlic out of their paper skins.
·           Spread roasted garlic onto bread dipped in olive oil or add it up to cream cheese
·           Use it on whatever pasta dish. Put some olive oil, broccoli and Parmesan cheese.
·           Use roasted garlic on your sauces like gravy, spaghetti sauce or on your salad dressing. You can likewise add it to mayonnaise or softened butter.
·           Roasted garlic substitutes the use of raw garlic on your favorite soup. The taste is greatly improved.
·           Add to any sort of cooked vegetables like broccoli,  asparagus, artichokes, greens and  on mashed potatoes
·           Relish it as is, squeeze out and pop one to your mouth.
Storage
1.         Should there be any extra roasted garlic, you can wrap it in foil, intact in its husk and put insude the fridge
2.         Squeeze them out from husk, store in a jar then add adequate olive oil to cover them. Place inside refrigerator. This will stretch its shelf life for about 4-5 days. Careful not to use after more than 5 days old of this roasted garlic and olive oil combined. Botulism toxin occurs in a few perfect conditions.
Before you indulge
There are no known health hazards or side effects for normal levels of garlic consumption. For those with tender stomach, ingesting garlic could lead to gastrointestinal distress. Frequent contact includes isolated cases of allergic skin reaction. Do not mix medicinal doses with high blood pressure medications or with blood thinners, including aspirin, taken for heart-attack prevention. Garlic’s anti-clotting action could lead to problems for those with existing clotting disorders.

Get To Know Your Champagne

Traditionally, opening a Champagne bottle has always been a way to celebrate milestones or toast the bride and groom on their marriage.  Considered to be a versatile beverage, Champagne can be served with a meal or with dessert.  For many years, this truly refreshing and exotic drink has been used as a way of celebration and just enjoying the times that lie ahead.

Champagne is derived from the vineyards of the French region.  If you have a bottle and notice Champagne imprinted on the label, rest assured that the bottle was produced in the vineyards of France.  If you do not get Champagne that was produced in the French regions, you are pretty much just purchasing a standard sparkling wine.  You should also be sure that the name is spelled “Champagne”, with a capital C.  French producers are really protective of this very name, and thus are they are the only ones that are authorized to use it.

Champagne is produced using three different types of grapes - Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier.  Noir and Meunier are types of black grapes, while the long-familiar Chardonnay is a type of white grape.  The label on the bottle will stand for what type of Champagne you are purchasing, so you will recognize what flavor to expect.  There are also kinds of this wine that are a mix of different grapes, offering rather an exquisite taste to say the least.

Just like sparkling wine, Champagne is really popular with celebrations and such.  While it is actually debated to be a type of sparkling wine, Champagne is way better.  You have to be mindful where you buy it though, as a lot of producers like to use low end grapes, which don’t taste the same.  If you've ever tasted this wine before - you’ll know exactly what quality tastes like.

A lot of people favor Champagne because of the bubbles that are known to spew out once a bottle has been opened.  The bubbles that spew out from this wine are the result of tiny drops of liquid that are agitated by the carbonic acid gas.  Once the liquid is agitated, the bubbles form and shoot out of the bottle.  This is a normal reaction of the double fermentation process that can only be observed with a bottle of Champagne.

The next time you have a celebration and want something to make the celebration a bit more interesting, you ought to grab a bottle of Champagne.  Few things mark a celebration like the bursting bubbles of a fine bottle.  You can find quality Champagne at ABC stores or other shops that sell alcoholic beverages.  Even though it could cost you a bit of money - when you pop the top you’ll be delighted you bought it.

Sweet Talk: Confectioners’ Terms We Need to Know

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What’s in those fancy sweet names? Probably everything there is to know. Here are the common confectioners’ terms used for desserts and pastries.
Let us get to know them:
Buttercream: a rich creamy mixture of butter, eggs, and sugar used both as filling and frosting.
Dacquoise: a meringue paste with fine-ground nuts.
Dragée: a silver or gold sugar ball used for decorating
Ganache: a smooth mixture of melted or finely chopped chocolate and heated cream.
Génoise: a light, airy sponge-type cake that is usually round and the basis for many layered cakes.
Pastilage (or gum paste): an edible dough-like paste that can be used for modeling ribbons, flowers, figure, and other decorations.
Piping:  a technique for forcing buttercream , icing, chocolate, etc., from a pastry bag to form specific shapes or decorative designs.
Poured fondant: a soft, pliable paste made from sugar syrup that is used to fill/ or ice chocolates and other confections such as petits fours.
Praline:  caramelized almonds and/or hazelnuts used as flavoring, filling, and decoration.
Pulled sugar:  a taffy-like sugar that is formed into various shapes— ribbons, fruits, leaves, flowers— to decorate cakes.

Rolled fondant:  A popular icing with a matte, porcelain-like finish that is rolled out like dough and draped over cakes.
Royal icing:  a rock-hard sugar used for trimmings and decorations
Spun sugar (also called angel’s hair):  pulled strands of caramelized sugar for decorative nests, bows, etc.

LOW-CALORIE CHINESE PEPPER STEAK

A Chinese- style steak that's actually an American invention.

1 pound flank steak
1/2 cup sliced onion
3 green peppers, cut in squares
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup dry sherry
1/3 cup water
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
Pinch of pepper
Pinch of garlic powder (optional)
3 ripe tomatoes, cut in bite-size pieces
1 teaspoon cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water

1. Slice the meat diagonally against the grain into 1/8 - inch strips. Heat a large nonstick skillet and brown the steak quickly over high heat. Push aside.
2. Add the onion and green pepper and stir-fry for 1 minute.
3. Add the soy sauce, sherry and water; stir in the seasonings. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes.
4. Uncover and add tomatoes and cornstarch mixture. Stir and continue cooking another minute or two.

NOTE: This is another good dish for about 1/2 pound leftover rare roast beef.

Low Calorie Sukiyaki

Good beef, specially raised for leanness and tenderness, is a Japanese delicacy. The dish Sukiyaki can be an elaborate company dinner, with slender slices of the finest beef tenderloin and crisp vegetables prepared at the table. 
Here's a family-style version that's more convenient because it's prepared in the kitchen—and it's slimmer and less expensive because you use flank steak, with only 653 calories per pound.


Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds flank steak
1 large onion, sliced
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup dry sherry
1 cup canned Chinese
vegetables or bean sprouts, drained
1/2 plastic package (8 ounces) mixed fresh salad vegetables (shredded cabbage, lettuce, celery, carrots, etc., from supermarket produce department)
egg (optional)

1.    Slice the meat diagonally against the grain into 1/8-inch strips; slice strips in half. (Partially frozen meat is easiest to slice.)
2.    Heat a large nonstick skillet. Brown the meat very quickly over high heat, stirring all the time. Push meat to one side, and leave in skillet while cooking vegetables.
3.    Add the onion and mushrooms; stir-fry 3 minutes.
4.    Add soy sauce, sherry and vegetables; cook, stirring frequently, for an additional four to five minutes. (Don't overcook; vegetables should be crisp.)

NOTE: This is a good dish to prepare with leftover rare roast beef. (Use about 3/4 pound. Makes 6 servings.)
 Makes 6 servings at 237 calories each.

Healthy Cooking Tip: Alternative Ways to Trim Fat From Your Food

 

Serving food is good; serving good food is even better; but serving healthy good food that is flavorful is the best.

To cook healthfully, you do not need to cut the flavor; you just have to modify the traditional cooking methods.  Chefs say that the secret to cooking a healthy meal is by knowing the best culinary techniques.  Here are ways to lessen fat from your food.  Let us compare the two methods for each technique.

Braising

Traditional method:  Brown meat in fat; then cook, covered, with a little liquid for a long period of time.  Braising seals in moisture and makes tougher cuts more tender.

Alternative method:  Skip the browning step.  Use a cooking bag to lock in moisture without adding calories.  Dust bag with flour, which combines with juices for a low-fat sauce.

Roasting

Traditional method:  Oven-roasting meat ensures even browning and rich flavor.   Baste tender meat frequently with fatty pan drippings to keep it from drying out.

Alternative method: Baste meat with fat-free broth, wine, or juice to lock in moisture without losing flavor.  Chill pan juices, skim off fat and use the juices to make low-fat gravy.

Sauteing

Traditional method:  Cook food in hot oil in a skillet over high heat.  Remove food and make sauce in same pan.  Stir food back into pan and coat with sauce.

Alternative method:  Use a non-stick pan and substitute any flavorful liquid—juice, wine, broth—for the oil; sauté as usual.

Broiling

Traditional method:  Cook food directly above or below the heat source.  Since food is cooked under intense heat, apply basting sauce or oil often to maintain moisture.

Alternative method:  Use a cooking spray—instead of brushing on too much oil—for a light, even coating.  Food still caramelizes, but with a fraction of the fat and calories.

How To Grill Seafood To Bring Out the Best Flavor

Not only does seafood give a healthier choice to those who cannot have a bit much of meat but they also taste quite good if you know how to ready them the correct way. With the numerous pleasant things you are able to turn seafood into by the use of your grill it's no marvel why it's becoming more popular by the minute.


Regarding that, you may wish to try having seafood the next time you and your family decide on grilling. So to inform you with what seafood will be fine on the grill as well as what are a few good things to do with them, here are some tips that should describe in detail the suitable way of cooking and having seafood.

Read more:  How To Grill Seafood To Bring Out the Best Flavor 

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