So This Is Christmas

Merry Christmas is such an infectious feeling I like to feel that way all year around.

So if you are visiting just before Christmas, just after Christmas or even here on Christmas day I am sure you will find something of interest for you and in the spirit of Christmas.

It may be said that Christmas is no longer a celebration but this must be spoken by people that have never had trouble closing their eyes on Christmas Eve in an expectation of what maybe left for them on the carpet under the tree.

I continue to look forward to the surprise on my Grandchild's faces to this day at Christmas events.

Merry Christmas - Merry Christmas - Merry Christmas

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Creative Ways For Cooking Better Tasting Food

By Sara Ezan


No one is perfect at cooking and the best chefs even have things to learn. Cooking is a skill that everyone is improving over their lives. If you want to quickly improve your cooking skills, read the following article. This article can improve your approach to cooking.

Keep herbs and spices in a location that is cool and dark. Humidity and heat, in addition to light, will cause spices and herbs to lose their flavor. Usually, spices and herbs that are ground will retain their flavor for up to a year. Spices that have not been ground may still be worth using for three years or a little more. If the spices are stored properly, they will stay fresh for a longer period.

When you are making stock, make a lot of it. Then save it in a plastic zip bag, date it and freeze it. That way you can pull it when you would like to make a soup. You can use it to boil some veggies in. Having some in the freezer will make preparing healthy meals very much easier.

Damp paper towel and a plastic bag can extend the life of your greens. If you wrap your fresh herbs or fresh greens with a damp paper towel and then place them in a plastic bag, they will last longer. They will normally stay fresh three to four days longer if you do.

Keep a potato masher in your kitchen at all times. This useful device can be used to mash more than just your typical potatoes. Try mashing carrots, cauliflower, and other root vegetables. You can mix any of these in to your usual mashed potatoes to make them more vibrant, nutritious, and interesting.

Learn some proper knife-work techniques to make your time in the kitchen safer, more productive, and more enjoyable. Proper cutting techniques not only help to ensure safety in the kitchen, but food cut properly and uniformly looks better (which of course makes it tastes better!) and cooks more evenly. Stop cutting off your fingertips and burning half of the French fries with proper cutting skills!

Instead of approaching cooking as an analytic process, you should try to maximize the amount of fun that you have in the kitchen. Put the music on loud and dance from time to time to enjoy what you are doing. Keeping something fun and casual will reduce errors from anxiety.

If you decide on using fresh herbs, gather them in bunches and snip the stems with scissors. This is perfect for flavorful herbs like dill and parsley. Chopping herbs often makes herbs wet and wilted. Using scissors gives your herbs a light, fluffy appearance.

Tofu and beans can serve as great sources of protein that can be easily added to any diet. Most grocery stores stock these items. Seasoned tofu is a wonderful alternative to meat, and can be cooked in a variety of ways, such as pan frying. You can boil the beans with some herbs to have a flavorful protein packed meal, side or snack.

You can avoid sticky rice by removing the starch. To do just that wash the rice several times until the water coming from the rice is crystal clear. Remove all the water, and let the rice sit for 20 minutes. Adding a few drops of lemon to the water before cooking also helps to separate the grains.

Make all necessary preparations for whatever you are planning on cooking before you start cooking. Otherwise, you might use the stove longer than you need to, and waiting can also make it safer and harder to burn food.

Flour or any other dry goods stored too long, tend to attract bugs and make them either hard to use or not suitable for cooking. Lay a whole bay leaf in the container (and possibly also in the cupboard) and your goods and storage areas will be bug free forever.

Cauliflower is white when you first place it in water, but it has a tendency to sometimes turn a grayish or yellowish color. To prevent that from happening and keeping your cauliflower perfectly white you should try adding a little bit of milk to the water while it is cooking.

Developing your culinary skills is an exciting process. The process of making a new dish sometimes proves just as fun as when you get to eat it. Hopefully, you have picked up some great tips through this article that have inspired you to cook better, and experiment with new ideas for great, delicious dishes. Cooking is a constant learning experience and you should always find it to be something new and fresh to do.



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