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Saturday, September 20, 2008

Christmas Chocolates Paradise!

Are you looking for an exciting activity for this coming Christmas? Looking for new ideas? How about some home made chocolates, desserts and cocktails? How about creating an amazing experience?

Are you ready? Let's go...

Egg Wine

Ingredients A
1 egg
1 tablespoon cold water

Preparation
Beat the egg and mix with water.

Ingredients B
30 ml cold water
60 ml Sherry wine
Rock sugar
Nutmeg (grated)

Action
a. Combine the water and wine and make it hot, but not boiling.
b. Pour this upon the egg.
c. Stirring all the time.
d. Add little rock sugar and nutmeg.
e. Put all in a clean saucepan.
f. Set on a gentle heat, and stir the contents one way, until they thicken.
But they must not boil.
g. Serve in a glass with plain crisp biscuit.

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Mini Tarts Crust

Ingredients
125g digestive biscuits
80g melted butter

Action
a. Put the biscuits into the blender and grate them to fine bread crumbs.
b. Add butter and blend till mixed.
c. Put the mixture into the muffin baking dish bottom and spread evenly.

Filings (Choices of food)

Chocolates
Cheese
Egg wine
Cherries
Berries
Kiwi
Ice-Cream
Cream
Ham
Mushrooms
Pumpkins

Note: You can use any easy food, but they must be small.

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Steamed Chocolate Puddings

Ingredients
3 tablespoons butter
70g sugar
60g corn syrup
2.5 squares of no sweet chocolate (melted)
1 egg (well beaten)
250 ml milk
270g barley flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Action
a. Cream the butter and add sugar and syrup gradually.
b. Add chocolate and egg.
c. Mix and sift flour, baking powder, and salt,
and add alternately with milk to the mixture.
d. Turn them into a few small greased pudding dishes.
e. Cover and set in a pot of boiling water coming half way up the sides of the dish.
f. Cover the pot and let water boil 1.5 hours, adding boiling water as it boils away.
g. Serve with egg sauce.

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Egg Sauce

Ingredients
2 egg yolks
2 egg whites
110g powdered sugar
100g corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla

Action
a. Beat egg yolks until thick and add syrup gradually while beating constantly.
b. Beat egg whites until stiff and add sugar and vanilla gradually while beating constantly.
c. Combine mixtures, carefully folding over and over.
d. Serve as soon as possible.

Special Christmas Chocolates, Desserts, and Cocktails are ready!

Food and Drink Paradise club is a wonderful gateway to meet all food lovers over the world.

Extraordinary recipes, cooking tips, and a free e-book will be given to all
my newsletter subscribers
.

I shall show you how to create wonderful recipes for all occasions,
including weddings, birthdays, parties, and many more.

Please feel free to explore my work at http://www.allcookmakeeasy.com

Thank you very much, and I love to see you soon again.

Joan Chang

The Growing Popularity of Tea and Health Benefits

With the growing popularity of tea, Americans enjoy drinking tea on a daily basis totaling an average of 165 million cups a day. According to on-going research, drinking just 4 cups of tea a day may offer significant health benefits.

For some people, drinking tea starts as a medicine, but its rich flavor and wonderful taste later rendered it a beverage. It has been associated with such traditional health benefits as being able to lower blood pressure, aid digestion and cool the body from excessive 'heat". Modern science confirms that tea contains many antioxidants which may help prevent cancer. Other findings suggest that tea may help improve bone density, strengthen teeth, lower cholesterol and blood sugar, eradicate toxins from the blood stream and cleanse the plaque deposits in the arteries.

One example is Organic Tea, which has a superior taste when compared to others teas. This tea is organically grown in India and produces a bright green infusion with delicate vegetable notes in the aroma and a slight citrus flavor. A caffeine-free variety which is very popular. The C02 process used to decaffeinate this green tea preserves its full flavor and aroma while removing the caffeine.

Another interesting variety available is Wulong Slimming Tea. Research suggests that this tea aids weight loss because it contains a substance which activates body enzymes that break down fat. Another beneficial tea variety is black tea, which has been shown to boost the immune system and improve mental clarity.

Other types of tea include several flavored teas and herbal teas as well. Teas are packaged in resealable pouches for optimum freshness. Authentic tea sets which are ideal for brewing the perfect cup of tea. With the growing popularity of tea, no wonder so many Americans enjoy drinking tea and why they make it part of their daily diet.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Facts About Bread

Bread is one of the oldest prepared foods, dating back to the Neolithic era, in one form or another, has been one of the principal forms of food for man from earliest times. It is one of the few things in the world that has remained as an important part of our lives throughout history.

It is a staple food prepared by baking dough of flour and water. Bread that has stiffened or dried past its prime is said to be stale. Kept at low temperatures, for example, in a refrigerator, will develop mold growth more slowly than bread kept at room temperature. When it is kept in warm, moist environments is prone to the growth of mold. It can be served at any temperature ranging from room temperature to hot.

It can be dunked or dipped into a liquid (such as beef gravy, olive oil, or sardine pâté), topped with various spreads, both sweet and savory, or serve as the enclosure for the ubiquitous sandwich with any number of meats, cheeses, vegetables or condiments inside

Bread made with bakers yeast is not sour because of the absence of the lactobacillus. Bread improvers are frequently used in the production of commercial breads to reduce the time that it takes to rise, and to improve the texture and volume. It is also a staple part of a healthy eating pattern as it is low in fat and one of the best sources of fibre, both leavened and unleavened, is mentioned in the Bible many times.


Transition to a Healthier Lifestyle With Vegetarian Recipes

When you're making food choices at the supermarket do you ever consider the consequences it will have on your well being and lifestyle? Have you really thought about it? Your quality of life in the future will depend on the choices you have made to-day.

All healthy diets are low fat, low cholesterol and high fiber - which makes a vegetarian diet an outstanding option for improving the health of your heart.

The well known saying "we become what we eat" is more than just words, as it has been proven over and over again, that healthy people eat healthy foods.

When we make the switch from eating meat to a vegetarian-based diet, our cholesterol improves, our body fat reduces, we are less prone to many types of cancers, the chances of contracting diabetes reduces, our blood pressure falls into the normal and generally, our overall health and fitness improves.

If you have a family history of high cholesterol or high blood pressure, then it's particularly incumbent on you to revise your eating habits. Moving towards a more vegetarian diet has been shown statistically to reduce the incidence of so many of the diseases of industrialized countries. Vegetarians are statistically healthier than omnivorous persons; they're leaner and live longer.

Vegetarians avoid fast foods at all costs. Have you ever seen an example of your blood plasma after eating a fast food hamburger? What was previously a clear liquid becomes cloudy with the fat and cholesterol that's absorbed from eating a high-fat hamburger.

It's time now for you to think about your health and your future. Do you want to be overweight, have less energy and simply feel sluggish and fat, or do you want to feel the way most vegetarians feel and look like with a longer anticipated lifespan? Isn't it time to think about what you want to be and to eat accordingly by starting to-day on a vegetarian diet.

It's never too late to change what you're eating and increase your chances for a longer, fitter life. "If it is to be - it is up to me."

Bill Hansen is a writer and researcher on vegetarian food and recipes. To receive your instant access on various vegetarian food issues please visit http://www.aboutvegetarianrecipes.com

Friday, August 8, 2008

Wine and Food Pairing

The process of matching food and wine is highly subjective and inexact process.

The old rules like having red wine with red meat and white wine with fish and poultry do not hold well these days because in this fast moving world experimentation regarding the match of wine with the food recipes and no one follows these hard and fast rules. The pairing could be on your own will and wish. You can hear the suggestion about the new mix and match suggestions on an everyday basis.

Vineyard tours and wine tastings are a great way to try to try the different wines and learn more as to which wine you favor the most. Then you can begin with trying the foods and wines you favor the most.

While pairing food and wine, the goal is synergy and power. The wine should not overpower the food, and even the food should not overpower the wine.

Try and match the food with the wine in such a way that it flavors the food in a better way. Wine in itself tastes better than the food; wine has a similar significance as that of spice in food. Wine when drunk along with your food produces different sensations.

A good match can bring out the nuances that can enhance the flavors and bring very good characteristics of both the food and wine.

Good food and wine pairing is achieved when there are similarities and contrasts between the taste and intensity.

Rule of thumb that will help in better pairing of wine and food

In case you take a wine for a gift to a dinner party, then there is no need to worry about the matching of the wine with the food. A good wine to be taken as a gift to a dinner party is a very good idea. A grand party deserves better wine than hamburgers and chips.

When you serve wines it is important that you serve lighter wines before full-bodied people. It is important that you serve dry wines before the sweet flavored wines. Lower alcohol wines must be served before higher alcohol wines.

Try and balance the flavor intensities. Serve light wines with light food and serve heavy wines with heavy food.

While pairing wines with the food consider the preparation of the food, serve the lighter wines with food that is steamed. The wines which have strong alcohol content should be paired with food that is grilled, roasted or sautéed.

Pair cheese and wine. In some European countries the best wine is reserved for cheese course. Red wine goes well with mild to sharp cheese. Intensely flavored cheese goes well sweeter wine.

So before you decide on the pairing of wines with the food course it is always important that you taste the wine.

Shijina is an expert SEO copywriter for Napa valley wine tours. She written many articles like Napa valley articles, wine country tours, napa valley tours For more information visit our site Wine country tours. Contact me at shijinaseo@gmail.com.

The Dinner Party

Ah...the essential dinner party. Yes, there may be all kinds of new ways to entertain friends - from your all-white penthouse and vodka party in New York City, or over the grill with the latest health-conscious country-on-country fusion, perhaps. But when it comes right down to it, the plain truth is that the most grown-up and gracious of all entertainments comes down to the humble - or not so humble - dinner party.

Think about this: back a few decades ago, one of the chief reasons for the up-and-coming businessman to have a wife in the first place was so that he'd have a suitable hostess for such soirees. The right wife - in addition to being beauteous to look upon and charming - would be able to put together an impressive menu, an interesting guest list, and a tasteful table.

It is true that it takes some thought and creativity to put together a great summer party out by the pool or a clever cocktail party with delicious little bites and a well-stocked bar. However wonderful these parties are, though, they can't compete with an invitation to dine at your table, with a carefully chosen group of friends and a delectable menu. It is the classic and quintessential event to mark your attention and your best feelings.

Now is the time to start thinking about putting together the first big dinner party of the fall season. It will be a gracious and enjoyable way to kick off the fall - which, if you've noticed in stores, is quickly turning already to the Christmas season! Sure - it's still hot as Hades out there, but the change is coming, and wouldn't you like to know that you have the perfect group of people at your table to enjoy the perfect dinner and the perfect conversation. After all, soon people will start thinking about traveling for Thanksgiving and pulling into full holiday party swing...wouldn't it be nice to have your social obligations taken care of well in advance?

While it is nice to have a beautiful dining room with a grand pedestal or Jupe table, French monogrammed table linens, and a shimmering array of china and crystal, it is not necessary. One of the best dinner parties I ever attended was thrown by a couple who had stacked card tables against their kitchen table, thrown a white cloth over all, and pulled up a variety of chairs culled from all over the house and patio. With a good eye for detail, you can pull together a number of elements - dishes, flatware, glasses, and napkins - and create an attractive tableau, as Martha Stewart might say. If you don't have the eye yourself, bring in a friend who is talented in this arena - just make sure that you've invited that person to the party!

Once you've figured out how to make a pretty party, it's time to turn to delicious food. It used to be very easy to pick up a copy of Bon Appetit or Gourmet magazines and find a suitable and elegant menu. However, it seems (to me, at least) that some of the foodie magazines are busy out-foodying each other so much that it's hard to find more than a couple of recipes in each that sound palatable or that are comprised of ingredients readily available within a 200-mile radius of my home. Luckily, though, there are hundreds of older menus available via www.epicurious.com, and if you go back about 10 years, these menus will sound retro-hip instead of old and tired.

Use the best and freshest ingredients available, and go to your local wine shop and ask for the best reds and whites that will go with these dishes. Gone are the days of having to drink red with beef, but because the rules here have changed, you have to be prepared to pour a palatable choice from several color ranges. In addition, you might want to have some after-dinner drink options - ports, brandies, or liqueurs. They'll look special with the dessert and coffee, and also really help to wind the drinking up for the evening - they're simply too rich to keep going!

And while everything is looking rich and wonderful, make an effort with yourself. A nice jacket and well-tailored shirt will lend the right touch of consummate host to your repertoire for the evening, and you can accessorize with a pair of cufflinks that will shine in the candlelight and be an easy conversation starter with the wife of the boss - who will be sitting to your right, as befits the female guest of honor.

While you could choose a simple, classic pair of cufflinks, you could also vroom up the conversation with a pair made to represent wine glasses, casks, or champagne flutes. Have a good story about them ready to tell, as well as some wine to pour. Remember, it's always better to shoot your cuffs than to shoot the bull.

Whether your interests are in silver, gold, artistic, sports, or other theme-related cufflinks we've got you covered. Cufflink Aficionado carries a broad range of men's cufflinks designed to meet each connoisseur's individual style and interest. Our selection of cuff links are sure to top off that perfect look.

Monday, July 21, 2008

Tips For Healthy Grocery Shopping

Grocery stores are full of unhealthy food. Don't think that because it's in the store, it's good for you. Remember, the grocery store is in business to make money. With most Americans unknowingly addicted to sugar, the grocer plays on that addiction. Your grocer loves it when you do your grocery shopping hungry. Then those sugar cravings really kick in. Most people have no idea what they're eating. They don't know if it's processed, if it contains saturated fat or unsaturated fat, if it has a lot of sugar or a little sugar, etc. They buy food that they have been programmed to buy by commercials, magazine ads, and in-store displays. Good marketing works in America, and it sells a bunch of junk full of sugar, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, additives, and chemicals.

Whether you know it or not, this marketing and your addictions are slowly causing you to kill yourselves from long-term, degenerative diseases. Hopefully there will be a time when the public will stop buying the poisonous food that fills the aisles of our grocery stores. If we don't buy it, they won't make it.

You should have a pretty good idea of what kind of foods you should be looking for in the grocery store-natural foods that are low in sugar and saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium; foods made from whole grains; fresh fruit and vegetables; and lean meats.

Your first mistake when you go grocery shopping is not to bring a list. This means you are basically walking up and down aisles and throwing whatever strikes your fancy into your grocery cart. Stores thrive on impulse buying. Why do you think they have all of that junk-magazines, candy, chocolate, knick-knacks, etc.-by the checkout lines? They know that a certain percentage of you will pick at least one extra item from that area and throw it in your cart.

Go through your kitchen and pantry and make a list of exactly what you need. The list helps battle impulse buying. Go to the grocery store and buy exactly those things you have on your list and nothing more. The longer you are there, the more likely you are to leave with extra junk. If you bring it home, you'll eat it. Keep your environment free of bad food. Also, try not to shop between 4 PM and 7 PM-that's when the stores are the most crowded.

How can Americans be consuming less fat, yet become fatter than before? There is a whole new marketing craze in grocery stores now. In every aisle, you see the words "fat free." These labels cleverly disguise this food as healthy. People blindly buy anything fat free, thinking it is okay. But because something is fat free doesn't mean you can eat unlimited amounts of it.

These fat-free items are simple carbohydrates (mostly sugar) that have little or no nutritional value. The fat is removed and replaced by sugar. People are gobbling down cookies, cakes, and other sugar-loaded carbs by the truckload. The simple carbs are broken down in the body and stored as fat if they are not used for energy. Most candy is fat free. Does that mean it's healthy for you? Once again, it is simple sugar, which is stored as fat if not used by the body. Look at the amount of sugar in candy like Twizzlers and Skittles. Eat just a few, and you've ingested twenty to over thirty grams of sugar. Remember going to the movies and consuming half a box of candy, such as Dots, Junior Mints, or Milk Duds? You put between 50 and 100 grams of sugar in your body. Ten grams of sugar is equal to one teaspoon of sugar. Do you think you could eat five to ten teaspoons of sugar?

When you see an item in the grocery store labeled fat-free, check the sugar content. If it is over six to eight grams of sugar per serving, let it stay on the grocer's shelf. If you make a conscious effort to break the sugar habit, you'll see and feel a whole new you. This is a scientific proven fact, not a guess.

Learn to read labels. Almost every food item sold in the grocery store has a "nutrition facts" panel on it that shows how many calories, fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sugar, sodium, and other nutrients are in the item. When you start checking nutrition facts of the foods that you've been consuming for years, you might be a bit startled. Chances are a lot of it is loaded with all the bad things we've been talking about. This could be the single most important health habit you could practice. Know what you are putting into your body instead of blindly trusting your grocer and the food manufacturers. Start eating healthier and exercising daily to reduce your chances of chronic disease to almost zero!

I don't know why people, when armed with information like this, continue to sabotage their health and cut years off their lives! All I can say is I want to live the longest, healthiest life possible-don't you?

Get more Health Tips at http://blog.totalhealth4life.net/ by Rico Connor a 54-year-old, self-taught Health & Fitness expert reveals his "Ultimate Health Regimen", the ONLY TOTAL, ALL ENCOMPASSING program that trains your mind as well as your body, which will transform your body in just 7 hours a week and improve your quality of life in every way. Achieve optimal health, reverse aging and fight disease.

The Virtues of a Well-Selected Wine Glass

My Cup Runneth Over

So, you've come to realize that your home is in one of the premier wine regions in the country. You begin to make the rounds to the various wineries, engage in critical wine tasting and develop a cultured palate for the stuff. Over time you begin building a well-represented wine collection and consider yourself somewhat knowledgeable on the topic. Family and friends turn to you when it comes time to select the perfect wine for a particularly well thought out meal or event. You have become the very image of refinement and sophistication. You ascend from the depths of your wine cellar with a choice bottle of merlot, selected for its unusually productive and climatically sound year. You share the fact that it has been aged in French oak and will blend handsomely with its myriad of peppery flavors to accentuate the meal. Uncorking the bottle, you smile with a confident satisfaction. You turn to the credenza and bring over a silver tray filled with glasses. Not just any glasses, but mugs adorned with the logos of your favorite National Hockey League teams. Oh, the horror. Your guests have been insulted and all hastily leave in utter disgust. Your spouse faints with a mournful groan and a dramatic flourish of the arm and the dog relieves himself in your favorite slippers. You have revealed yourself as an uncultured heathen; a veritable barbarian.

Could this tragedy have been avoided? Sure it could. Had you taken but a few moments to learn of the virtuous nature of the well-developed wine glass, this ugly matter might never have happened. Fortunately for you, we will start your wine glass education here and now, before it's too late. Before you begin an irreversible, irretrievable journey into the dark depths of what we now recognize as a disease. A disease called Vitis Vinifera Ignoramus. It's too awful to even contemplate.

First, we will have a look at prices. Since you may still be in the infantile stages of wine glass appreciation, you should start with a more inexpensive glass, since breaking them is not uncommon. In that vein of thought, you should also be mindful to purchase a higher number than those you intend for immediate use or entertaining. If, for example, you consider a home-based wine-tasting event, perhaps with other members of your Hells Angels chapter, you might want to have enough glasses to provide several for each participant. The experience of comparing good wines with their color and bouquet will surely bring delight to your friends as they reflect back on the moment, roaring down the road on their Harley hogs.

Next, we will consider the exterior of the glass. Wine glasses can be purchased in a myriad of sizes, shapes, styles, and exterior designs. Even the glass itself can be tinted in a seemingly limitless selection of colors. While it is nice to have the friendly face of Sponge Bob Square Pants looking back at you while sipping a precocious Beaujolais, it is best to have nothing at all imprinted on the glass. Part of the experience of sampling a wine is peering through the glass, like a lusty peeping Tom, to better ascertain its rich colors.

The rim of the glass should be thin and not overly large. Inhibiting the flow of wine is bad. Very bad. Also, a large rounded rim induces an annoying dribble that trickles down the side of your glass, ultimately dripping onto your freshly pressed leather butt-less chaps. No one likes to appear more like a drooling monkey than is absolutely necessary, unless of course it is for the benefit of your mother-in-law. From here, we shall examine the stem. The stem should be long enough to allow for a firm grip without jeopardizing the stability of the freestanding glass. One must be discouraged from holding a glass of wine by the bowl, as it is likely to warm the wine above its optimal drinking temperature. The stem can be simple or ornate, depending on the stylistic preference of the owner. A pistol grip is particularly handsome.

Contrary to consoling comments from some women, size is important. A wine glass that is too small leaves the wine drinker with an awkward, unsatisfied feeling. One should be invited by the sense of abundance awaiting in the glass. But it should not be so abundant as to create chandelier swinging events or the old lampshade on the noggin routine. It is universally considered to be in poor taste to spoil a wine tasting event by prodigious amounts of projectile vomiting. Not that people won't find that entertaining.

That said, we press onward. The final consideration in examining the elegance and functionality of a wine glass is how to properly fill it. Pour from the decanter or bottle in a controlled, even flow. One should pour to the halfway point to allow the bouquet room to flourish. You will need room to swirl the wine in the glass to determine the amount of sugar present, a process not to be confused with the swirly, which so aptly set your hairstyle in college.

Thus, we have arrived at the end. You are now qualified to select the proper wine glass for your drinking pleasure. We hope you have found some benefit in this brief, humble tutorial, and we leave you with a few words of wisdom. In response to wealthy socialite Bessie Braddock observing, "Sir, you are drunk!" Winston Churchill responded with these fitting words, "Madam, you are ugly. In the morning, I shall be sober." His wisdom knew no bounds. So enjoy your wine with unfettered ebullience and remember to use the valuable tools gleaned from your wine glass education.


An Introduction to Wine Tasting

Wine tasting is the sensory examination and assessment of wine. While the practice of wine tasting is as ancient as its production, a more formalized methodology has slowly become established from the 14th century onwards. Wine tasting is an art and not every person can be a perfect wine taster. One needs to have a very fine sense of smell and taste, together with the ability to distinguish subtle color differences. Experience of tasting several wines of different aromas, grapes and blends is essential.

Learning Wine Tasting

It is not too tough to learn the art of wine tasting. You do not need to be an avid drinker, but you should have the three basic senses as stated

1) ability to discern subtle color differences

2) a keen sense of smell, and

3) a keen sense of taste. If you have these three qualities then you only need some dedication and extra bit of interest in this art form. If you have knowledge of different wine varieties, their areas of production and the wine making process, along with knowledge of the grapes used in making wine, then that will surely be a helpful factor in assessing the quality of a wine as well as enabling you to make judged comparison with other varieties available.

It is easy to learn the practice of wine tasting and if you already enjoy wine, learning the nuances will increase the pleasure that you get from tasting and drinking wine.

Appearance - The color of wine is a major deciding factor, it varies tremendously even in same type of wines. Therefore, wine should be poured in a clear glass in front of a white background to appraise the color of wine. It is a fact that a white wine is not actually white. Its color can vary through shades of green, yellow or brown.

Deeper colors in white wine often indicate greater flavor and advancing age. Similarly, red wines are not just red. They can be pale red and range from almost purple to deep brown red; the color usually becoming lighter with growing age. With time, many red wines may improve but generally age will ruin most white wines. Do seek sound advice if you intend to buy wines to store for more than a few months.

Smell (Bouquet) - Move the glass of wine in your hands in a circular motion, this releases molecules in the wine allowing you to smell the aroma. Take a light sniff first and catch the aroma of the wine properly, then take a deep whiff and concentrate on the depth of aroma. Do not try to taste it too early. After tasting and smelling several wines, you will start to notice the similarities and differences that exist between them.

Taste (Palate) - The most important deciding factor of any wine is its taste. The balance between fruit and acidity is a vital factor. Initial taste, and aftertaste, both are important. Give proper attention to both and note whether it is light or robust? Is it smooth or harsh? After swallowing wine, feel how long the flavors last in your mouth. Was it pleasant?

These are three deciding factors in wine tasting. The more diverse the selection of wines you try, and the more attention you pay to each wine, the better you will become at ascertaining and describing each wine's characteristics. If you really want to become an expert wine taster, you should visit wine tasting events in your area or arrange a wine tasting event at home for a few like minded friends.

Winelines was founded by Martin de Rusett, an established Wine Merchant and lecturer in London. The Company aims to expose the mystery that surrounds wine tasting as well as wine making, storing and serving, in order to educate and entertain.

For more information visit : Winelines

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Ten Tips to Enjoy Your Cooking

Do you cook? If yes, do you really enjoy your cooking? Most probably you have relegated cooking as a daily must-do drudgery, a boring chore that has to be gone through. You can enjoy your cooking if you set your mind to do so. No one can deny the fact that they feel a peculiar pleasure and thrill when the dish that they cooked turned out to be a masterpiece. You can really enjoy not only the food you make but the way you make it.

Cooking, I believe, is an art in itself. Like Music and Dance, making a good dish or recipe is a fine art. Every dish is a perfect blend of ingredients and the chemistry between the ingredients. If one loves the job of making a fine dish then the taste and feel of the dish gets doubly enhanced. If you have the taste and affinity for Cooking, here are a few tips to make your dishes look, feel and taste better. :

1. First make sure that you really want to prepare that dish.
2. Keep all the condiments and other ingredients ready at hand, in the correct measures.
3. Wash, peel, cut and keep vegetables ready
4. Clean, chop and cut meat and fish. Keep ready.
5. Choose method of cooking- Gas, Electricity or Microwave :Keep utensils ready.
6. Read the recipe once again, if you are cooking by the recipe. If not, just recollect the methodology.
7. Keep sufficient water, oil or fat ready at hand.
8. Always note to keep the heat at the medium level to avoid overcooking your dishes
9. Use teflon-coated thick copper bottom vessels or glass cookware for your cooking.
10. Always rely on your taste buds to ensure that your cooking has come out right.

Pleasure stoke your passion for cooking by reading, getting people to appraise your dishes by tasting and getting first hand knowledge of all the spices and other condiments and what they do to enhance the flavour and taste of your dishes.

Happy Cooking! Enjoy!

Crock Pot Cooking Tips For Everyone

One of the least used and yet most versatile tools in the average kitchen is the slow cooker. With just a few crock pot cooking tips you can turn this dust collector into one of the most useful items in your kitchen

This is some of the best crock pot cooking tips obtainable out there.

Buying roasts and other big cuts of meat that will go into in your crock pot easily is important. If the cut wont fit it into the container, trimming the piece down works better than attempting to stuff it further. This is one of the most significant tips on using crock pots that people will learn to appreciate.

Before cooking, you must get rid of the skin and cut away any extra fat from the poultry and other meats. This will assist to lessen the quantity of fat in the completed serving of food as well eliminate any oily flavor.

Some of the best crock pot cooking tips involve using vegetables. Fresh root vegetables, such as potatoes, carrots, and onions, should be placed in the bottom of the pot, under the meat, for more even cooking. These types of vegetables tend to cook more slowly than meat.

This is another neat trick you can use. You can pace the process of thickening the sauces near the end of cooking time by turning up the heat setting. Tasting the liquid to ensure that it has had enough time to flavor is advisable. Leave it on low heat and let it sit a little bit longer until you start to taste the flavor that you want.

Another important point to remember is seasoning in crock pot cooking. Periodically seasoning and tasting prior to taking away the dish is important. This is because crock pots, after sitting for some time, will tend to sometimes water down the flavors. Being resourceful with your seasonings is a good practice. Adding seasoned salt, garlic powder, seasoned pepper, and complementary herbs and spices is also an excellent way to complete the cooking.

Another important thing to remember is that in slow cooked foods, the dish will tend to lose its color. Utilizing certain garnish such as chopped fresh parsley, chives, tomatoes, and red or green peppers when the cooking is nearing completion, helps by adding color to the dish.

Buying a cookbook that has been written especially for crock pot cooking is amongst the best ways to learn to use your slow cooker more effectively. Not only do they offer delicious recipes but also lots of crock pot cooking tips that can help you use your slow cooker with ease and you can find these types of books either online or offline. The slow cooker can really earn its keep once you know how to put it to work, in today's busy world of working families.

Feel free to browse our Online Cooking Guides You may also want to receive our Special Report "Master Chef Secrets"

Monday, July 14, 2008

El Patio Restaurant in Havana, For the Best Gourmet

José Lezama Lima (1910-1976), a very polemic Cuban author, who wrote the novel Paradiso chose El Patio restaurant in La Habana Vieja as cuisine headquarter, a site of many aromas and a daydreaming environment.

For the writer, who compared once the lamb to the reading and placing them in their corresponding place, without discrediting one before another, it was a pleasant place worth to be visited in order to try some of its excellent dishes served in a unique decoration environment.
A site declared World Heritage by UNESCO in 1982 has been opened for more than 40 years February 28, 1965) in the Plaza de la Catedral at the ancient area of the capital, ideal to know about its history.

Lezama Lima chose the best, as hundreds of tourists do day after day, who walk alone or in group the historic-cultural areas in this neighborhood, through stone treets, and fachades that still have the traces of the colonial architecture.

The restaurant is located in a house of the 18th century, the Casa del Marqués de Aguas Claras, that was used for different purposes until it was a very luxury dining house.
It is worth passing by for those who have a demanding taste. The facitlity features 350 seats, spread in four restaurants, a coffe shop in the portal of the house and two snack-bar, as well as a show room with 13 seats, that makes it a renewing complex.

The Patio gives service to approximately 25 thousand customers yearly, as well as it is integrated to cultural galas in the Plaza de la Catedral due to the parties for the New Year and they supply those events with their dishes, where thousands of people attend yearly.

The staff tells that their marketing strategy is client oriented, the quality of the offer, historic-cultural potential of the facility and a greater publicity of their dishes.

Of course, there is a range of the Cuban intellectuality that is bound to this trategy since, apart from Lezama Lima, there are frequent comers such as the painters Victor Manuel, Posada, the Ecuadorian Oswaldo Guayasamín, the writer Alejo Carpentier, the Nicaraguan politician Daniel Ortega, the Cuban musician Frank Fernández and Juan Formell, as well as the Ministries of culture from different countries.

Some of them dead, giving supreme soul and spirituality, other alive, renewing each day the linage of the restaurant, they enforce a unique environment that many people claim not just to eat by to live an incomparable moment.

Spanish, Italians and French prefer them due to their variety in a carte of 32 dishes of international food and local (typical) above all, supported by national renown products such as the rum, the cigar and the coffee.

An excellent wine carte ends the list, where the meats could be very well accompanied, but also seafood is demanded in order to taste them with white wine and then to complete the dinner. The Patio is a truly Cuban feast.

Jose Mauricio Maurette is a Tailor-Made Cuba holiday specialist and has a vast experience in organizing holidays to Cuba. This is one of a series of articles devoted to promote the Cuban Culture and to give information on what to do and see in your Holidays to Cuba.

Basic Tomato Sauce For Pasta

A basic recipe that is good just as is, or add an endless variety of ingredients to suit your taste!

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 small onion finely chopped
  • 1 stalk celery finely chopped
  • 1 small carrot finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes
  • 1 tablespoon dried basil
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 1 28 ounce can crushed or diced tomatoes
  • 1/2 of 6 ounce can tomato paste
  • 3 tablespoons dry sherry or 1/2 cup red wine
  • small pinch red pepper flakes or powder
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • ground black pepper to taste
  • salt to taste

Cook onions, carrot and celery in olive oil over low heat for a minute or two. Add garlic and cook until onions are translucent, about 10 minutes or so. Be careful not to burn the garlic! Garlic is usually added after the onions and celery cook for a few minutes because garlic will burn faster. Burnt garlic turns bitter!

Add parsley, basil, oregano and pepper. Increase heat to medium and add tomatoes, tomato paste and sherry. Cook for a few minutes while stirring. Add pepper flakes, cover and reduce heat to low simmer and cook for 30 minutes.

And that's all there is to it! You can make the sauce thinner by adding a little tomato juice or water to it, but I like it thick! This sauce is an excellent base that you can add many things to. Add meat, sliced mushrooms, zucchini, artichoke hearts, green peppers, you name it! If you're going to add meat, cook the meat first, and add before the tomatoes. Any vegetables can be cut up and added just before the tomatoes.

2 pounds of fresh peeled and seeded tomatoes may be used instead of canned. If fresh tomatoes are used, more salt may be needed and the sauce may need to cook a little longer.

The flavors in this sauce get even better if it is frozen or kept in the refrigerator for a day or two.

Alan Beggerow owns and operates Cathleen's Bargain Basement, an online business that offers custom made apparel and hand crafted teddy bears by Cathleen, and also offers a selection of jewelry, home decor, Asian motif items, and much more. http://www.cathleensbargainbasement.com

Alan Beggerow is also a free lance writer. Visit his writing services website, Ghostwriter, at http://www.ghostwriterboo.blogspot.com

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Can You Wonder the Benefits of Wine?

One of the oldest alcoholic beverages is wine; its existence has been since thousands of years since 6000 B.C. It is made from the fermentation of grape juice. There is whole lot of varieties of wine available. One among these wines is the red wine which in recent days has been proven that it has a variety of benefits. Although red wine has gamete of benefits, but it is to be worth noted these benefits can be derived from moderate consumption and if the consumption is excessive it can have negative impacts on our health rather than its benefits. Current statistics suggest that red wine can provide much more benefits than just relaxation.

Increases the longevity of life:

Current data suggests that red wine has an element in it which extends the longevity of life .An article research suggests that in 2000 there were more than 600 million people above the age of 60 years and this figure in 2025 will reach about 1.2 billion in 2025.

The presence of this element in red wine thus helps to increase the life span of human beings and they could also remove the age related illness of human beings. According to surveys in France, Denmark, UK and Finland limited quantity of red wine consumption is more beneficial than the consumption of beers and other spirits.

Smoking

Intense smoking damages the vessels and they tend to lose the natural ability to relax. However red wine has some beneficial impacts to remove the negative impact of smoking. Red wine in the presence or absence of alcohol form a layer of cells called endothelium cells form a friction reducing lining in the blood vessels, heart and the lymph vessels, thus reducing the negative effects of smoking.

Effects on heart

One of the most proven and studied benefit of wine is that it is very much heart protective effect. Limited consumption of heart disease acts as a protection against the coronary heart disease. It reduces the production LDL (bad cholesterol) and it boosts the production of HDL (good cholesterol).

Blood clotting

Another very important feature of red wine is its ability towards anticlotting. Consumers who consume wine to light and moderate levels have lower levels of protein fibrinogen which promotes blood clot formation.

Hypertension

When the wine is consumed in excess it acts as a risk factor for hypertension .However there have been studies which have proved that if 250ml of wine is consumed along with the meal it can reduce the blood pressure in hypertensive persons.

Kidney stone formation

It also reduces the risk of kidney stone formation.

To conclude with I would not suggest everyone to drink wine wholeheartedly but I would
suggest that if you fall in the above situation that it would be a good idea to consume wine in moderate quantity.

Shijina is an expert SEO copywriter for Napa valley wine tours.

She written many articles like Napa valley articles, wine country tours, napa valley tours For more information visit our site Wine country tours. Contact me at shijinaseo@gmail.com

Cake Decorating Ideas

A delightful cake is all that we require celebrating an occasion. It not only adds color to our joy but also transcends us into a glorious world of fashionable food.

No cake is complete without its decoration. In fact decoration makes the cake fancier and makes us more eager to have it. For decorating a cake all that is required is sugar for icing and plentiful creative ideas to enhance the look and feel of the cakes. Moulds are available in the market in various shapes and sizes such as flower moulds or moulds in the shape of some cartoon characters. Thick cream can be filled in these moulds to get different kinds of items for beautification. Apart from cream other edible articles such as chocolates(grated, solidified into figures or in the liquid form), candies, butter cream, fruit pieces like cherries, strawberries and pineapples can be used according to imagination and occasion.

Thematic decoration of the cakes not only adds flavor to the occasion but also proves the importance of the occasion. Such as a cake meant for a wedding or an anniversary can be given a glossy or a snowy look by sprinkling fine sugar loosely over the top layer and its sides can be decked out with floral designs made of soft cream. Likewise a kid's party or a birthday can be made more colorful by positioning Disney characters using moulds on the top layer.

Cake decorations can also be designed with similar colors or symbols to remind important days like a cake with the color of national flag or symbol add stars to the celebration of the Independence Day. Similar arrangements can be done matching to the taste of the season.

There are a number of frostings or icings used for cake decorations. Victorian style, Royal icing, Fondant, Ganache, Marzipan are a few of them.

While cake decoration is a form of fine art, there are a number a number of culinary schools that teach this wonderful art. This art form can be learned from home too with the help of various books and CDs that provide step by step, simple procedures to master this skill. Cake decorating can become a good source of income once you become proficient in this art. Greater numbers of companies are looking for new and creative ideas for the decoration and ornamentation of the sugary coated sweet desserts. It can also be developed as a hobby that provides immense satisfaction and applauds once you are through with it. Hence cake decoration is a magnificent art.

http://decoratingwithtaste.com/ Cake Decorating Ideas - A blog dedicated to cake decorating. Learn decorating techniques, view pictures of beautifully decorated cakes, read about what tools you can use to decorate cakes, and more by visiting this blog.

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Purified Water Improves the Taste of Tea and Coffee

If you are a coffee lover or a tea devotee, then you know the feeling whenever you get a cup of your favorite that tastes absolutely delicious. You're the kind of person who will go and purchase a brand new tea or coffee maker just to make sure that you can make an incredible brew any time the mood hits you.

You get the machine home and make your first cup, anxious to make sure that this new "toy" will make a brew that matches the taste you are looking for. Much to your delight, it does! Your cup of tea is excellent, and you settle back with satisfaction, looking forward to many days and weeks of unbeatable tea and coffee.

The first few times you use your new machine, you get the same wonderful taste, and you are so pleased. You pat yourself on the back and think that you have never made a better purchase! But then, things change. Your tea doesn't taste as good as it did when the machine was new, and you can't understand why. After all, the machine isn't that old. True enough, you have made quite a bit of tea in it, perhaps as much as six to eight cups a day, but that shouldn't have done anything to the taste! You considered that use as more or less breaking the machine in.

Your tea continues to taste rather "off", and you are getting desperate. You're out shopping one afternoon, and a sudden craving for hot tea nearly overwhelms you, so you stop in at the hugely popular coffee shop on the next block, which you know also serves a pretty good cup of tea. You order, prepare your tea with milk and sugar as usual, and take a tentative sip. There it is! That flavor that you've been looking for, the one you were able to create at home when your tea maker was new. You go up to the counter to ask a question.

"Why does your tea taste so much better than the tea I make at home?" The lady behind the counter smiles knowingly at you. "Are you using purified water, or at the very least, filtered water to make your tea with?" she asks. "Why, no," you admit, surprised. "I've been using tap water like I always have, and making my tea in a new electric coffee and tea maker that I got a couple of weeks ago. The first few days, the tea tasted superb - just like it does when I get it here. But now, it tastes totally different, and I don't understand it at all!"

"It's your machine," says the barista. "How can that be?" you want to know, perplexed. "It's practically brand new!" "That's the thing," explains the barista. "When your machine was brand new, of course it made good tea. The impurities in your tap water had not had the chance to build up on the inside of the machine. That's why the tea tasted good at first. But now, after you have used the machine for a while, the impurities are there. And, they definitely will affect the quality of the finished product - your tea, and coffee, too."

"So, what do I do?" you ask. "Do I have to keep buying a new machine every few weeks in order to have a decent tasting cup of tea?" The barista laughed. "Hardly! That would end up being very expensive! No, all you need to do is clean your machine thoroughly when you get home. You probably got instructions along with it that tell you the best way to do it, and I'm pretty sure it involves white vinegar. Once you have it nice and clean, never use tap water in it again! Always use purified water, because it's the best and purest water that you can buy. Once you've done this, your tea or coffee will taste exactly the same at home as it does here - provided you are using the same type of tea, of course!"

Figuring you have nothing to lose, you go home and dig out your instruction manual to learn how to clean your tea maker. Once it's as clean as new, you set about brewing a cup of tea using purified water. Amazingly, the barista was right! Your tea tastes just like it did at the coffee shop!

And, it makes perfect sense, too. Any tea or coffee guru will tell you that the secret to brewing a perfect cup of either, besides the type of coffee or tea you are using, is the quality of the water you are brewing with! If you think about it, tea or coffee is mostly water anyway. When that water has an unpleasant taste or odor, like some tap waters do, how can you expect your tea to taste good?

So, the consensus is that purified water most definitely improves the taste of your tea and coffee! It makes such a big difference when you use purified water that it's astounding! If you like your coffee... if you love your tea... use purified water! You'll be glad you did!

Jon Stout is Chairman of the Golden Moon Tea Company. For more information about green tea, oolong tea go to the Golden Moon Tea website.

All You Need to Know About Caffeine

A lot of people will take too much caffeine each day. A lot of people will drink a lot of coffee though out the day. In fact, the case will be worse if you drink a lot of coke. Besides caffeine, you are also taking too much sugar. You should try to understand how caffeine can be good for you and what happens if you are taking too much of it.

As a matter of fact, caffeine can make you feel less sleepy. This is why most people would like to have a cup of coffee in the morning. If you feel tired after work in the evening, you may also try to drink a cup of coffee. Drinking only one cup of coffee a day will not really hurt. However, drinking six cups a day will probably have adverse effect on you.

One of the side effects of taking too much caffeine is that you may not be able to sleep. Since caffeine can help to wake you up, you will find it very difficult to fall asleep if you take too much caffeine. Though caffeine can help to keep you wake up. It can also be dangerous for people to think that they can take coffee instead of taking rest and going to sleep. This is especially true for vehicle drivers.

Drivers who think that they can just take a cup of coffee and do not need to sleep will pose real threat to all people on the road. In fact, you should try to take a rest when you feel tired or sleepy. A cup of coffee or a can of coke will never be the solution in this case.

Besides, caffeine can be something addictive. A lot of people nowadays are indeed addicted to caffeine. To be more exact, most people are addicted to coffee. Of course some people may also be addicted to coke. People who are addicted to caffeine will shake if they do not take caffeine. Although caffeine is not any kind of drug, it will not be a good idea if you are addicted to it.

Remember, when you feel tired, you should try to take a nap. Caffeine is never a substitute of taking rest or sleeping. As mention, if you are a driver and feel really tired, you should never think that you can just drink a cup of coffee continue driving. Yet taking a cup of coffee in the morning may do good to your. You should know how you can use caffeine instead of using it wrongly.

Antony Lee has a website on Health, Fitness and Wellness. Be sure to check Healthy Weight Loss Plans.

Friday, July 4, 2008

A 5 Step Guide to Selecting the Best Coffee Beans

Most consumers would think that coffee is coffee and that it wouldn't matter if it's instant or brewed as long as it tastes okay and wakes them up. While that is all fine and dandy, it is worth noting that picking the best beans according to your preference can result in a coffee which will be most looked forward to every morning. And if you own a grinder or a grind and brew coffee maker, you will notice the difference once you start thinking about your options and you will be glad that you did.
  • Do Coffee Species Matter?

  • There are different species of coffee plants like Coffea arabica, Coffea benghalensis, Coffea canephora, Coffea congensis, Coffea excelsa, Coffea gallienii, Coffea bonnieri, Coffea mogeneti, Coffea liberica, and Coffea stenophylla. Each species produce beans that have certain different characteristics and distinct flavor profiles.

    Around 75% of the world's coffee trade is comprised of Coffee Arabica, the reason being its preferred flavor and ability to thrive in most areas. Arabica beans are coveted for the deep aroma and great flavor that can go with most coffee additives like cream, sugar, and so on. This is something that most coffee drinkers agree on with good reason. You can never go wrong with a high quality brand of 100% Arabica with a medium roast.

  • Which Roast Is The Best?
  • There are different types of roast, depending on how long the beans are roasted. It can be determined by different degrees of darkness. There are four main types of roasts - Light (Cinnamon Roast, Half City, New England), Medium (Full city, American, Regular, Breakfast, Brown), Dark (High, Viennese, Italian Espresso, Continental), and Darkest (Italian, French, Spanish).

    Describing the taste of different roasts is as subjective as that of wine. There is no substitute to judging them with your own palate as only you can decide what your personal taste is. Choosing a type of roast is mostly on personal preference, but most people do like medium roast for its balanced flavor and sweetness.

  • How Important Is The Origin?
  • Coffee beans are distinct in their terrier, or capturing the place in where they were grown. While differences in flavor can be subtle, beans grown in Hawaii and Central America are more of snappy and vibrant variety, while those from East Africa and Yemen are deeper in bitterness, and those grown in Indonesia and Sumatra are even more complex in flavor.

  • Storing Coffee Beans

  • When open to air and light, roasted coffee beans can lose their flavor and go stale quite quickly. The best way to store beans is with an opaque airtight canister at room temperature. Theoretically, refrigeration can help preserve the beans longer, but with frequent opening of containers for use creating condensation, the moisture can tamper with the beans' flavor.

    When purchasing beans, make sure to get those stored in a sealed bag with a one-way valve laminated on it, which lets carbon dioxide out and keeping outside air from entering. Upon roasting, coffee beans produce prodigious amounts of carbon dioxide, so such valves are necessary for initial storage. Either that or frequent opening of jars for venting as done by most coffee shops. Do not go for beans stored in open beans as they would mostly be stale.

  • Grinding It Right

  • The perfect grind size is crucial so that the right amount of the flavor is extracted from the beans without going to far, which will take excess bitterness along for the ride. The smaller the grind size, the more surface area there is and over extraction is a big possibility. Too big of a grind size will just keep the hot water from getting enough flavor. Most people would say that they don't like strong coffee, while the reality is that they don't like bitter coffee. With coffee, strong doesn't really have to mean bitter.

If your coffee maker comes with a grinder, then use it. Experiment with different grind sizes to find your preference. If there is no grinder along with your coffee maker, then a small coffee grinder with pulse action will do the job just fine. Grinding your own is best as it is better to draw out the flavors closer to brewing time than having them ground in the shop. Most find a 15-20 second grind best while espresso calls for a finer grind.

Selecting and storing the beans right can have a great impact on the flavor of your coffee, a difference of changing the mediocre coffee from your coffee machine to a restaurant quality one in the comforts of your own home. So next time you are grocery shopping for coffee give coffee beans choice some thought.

Having the best coffee maker helps, but buying the best beans and grinding them right can make a huge difference to the quality of your brew.

Yogi Shinde is the webmaster of Coffee Maker Ratings & Reviews website which provides unbiased information on different types and brands of coffee makers. This article is free for publishing provided the resource link is maintained.

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Chocolate - Soul Food!

Indulging in your favorite sweet treat is an experience treasured and enjoyed by many. Everyone has their own different and specific favorite treat. However, most anyone will agree that chocolate ranks right up there on their list.

For centuries, chocolate has been seen as a delicacy. It used to be that only the wealthy could afford such enjoyment. Nowadays, there is temptation of a chocolate treat lurking around every corner. From the aisles at the convenience store or supermarket, to the pan of brownies on the kitchen counter, chocolate is readily available at every turn.

Chocolate is soul food. Not only good for the soul, but also therapeutic. Most people have a treasured memory to go along with their favorite treat. Chocolate is no different. From licking the bowl of chocolate chip cookies as a child, to sitting and chatting with a loved one over a piece of chocolate cake, memories have been made while eating chocolate.

While chocolate is good for your taste buds and your soul, it may also be good for your health. What better news could there be?

When it comes to your health, dark chocolate is definitely the most nutritionally sound. This is due to its high content of cocoa. From the cocoa brings other helpful benefits such as flavonoids, antioxidants, and a high ORAC value. Essentially what these healthy properties equate to are to assist you in fighting the free radicals that lead to heart attacks, cancer, and strokes.

All of these properties work together to give you a food that is literally good for your soul. Eating a moderate amount of dark chocolate can help to lower your blood pressure, bad LDL cholesterol, and increase your mood. Chocolate has natural properties that help to increase the serotonin level in your brain, thus increasing your general mood.

With all of these added benefits, chocolate is not only good for your soul, but also good for you. So enjoy your delectable treats and know that you're giving your body added benefits.

To learn more about Healthy Chocolate, visit Brian's Xocai website.

Author: Brian McCoy is a six figure earner and one of the top income earners in the home business industry. Brian works with entrepreneurs around the world. He devotes the time, energy, and effort into his team and works with them to ensure their success.

Eat Chocolate and Look Younger!

Chocolate as an anti-aging technique, is this some type of joke? Nope! The facts are in chocolate is bursting with antioxidants. An antioxidant is a molecule capable of slowing or preventing the oxidation of other molecules. The chemical reaction of oxidation can produce free radicals, which start a chain reaction of cell damage. Antioxidants actually stop these negative chain reactions. Many fresh fruits and vegetables have a high quantity of antioxidants, but pure raw chocolate is chocked full of flavonoids, which are some of the most powerful antioxidants on earth.

There is a trick to the chocolate though, you have to eat it raw. Now you are wondering, what is raw chocolate? Well, it helps to start from the beginning. Until recently I never really took much thought about where chocolate comes from. I just figured it came from the Hershey chocolate factory. But there is in fact a "chocolate tree." The tree was named Theobroma cacao, in Latin that means 'food of the gods.' Well, this 'food of the gods" is actually cacao beans. They grow on the tree. Some people call them nuts, but they are actually seeds. Once you remove the skin you have the cacao or chocolate. Now, before you roast it, process it, and load it with refined sugar -that is raw chocolate.

Heating the cacao beans kills most of the antioxidants and other minerals and vitamins in the chocolate. In order to preserve the nutrients the beans must be dried at a low temperature, typically below 120 degrees. Then they can be enjoyed whole as nibs (the bean with the skin removed), in bits, or as a powder.

Raw cacao has a bitter flavor like dark chocolate. Some enjoy it just like that. Others prefer to sweeten it by blending it with other natural ingredients like fruit or honey. I prefer it mixed into a fruit smoothie with other raw, fresh fruits.

Any way you enjoy it raw cacao is one of the most, if not the most, nutrient rich and complex foods known to man. Loaded with antioxidants, it neutralizes free radicals-rogue oxygen molecules that can accelerate aging and the problems that come with it. So to help you look younger, feel younger, and live longer -eat chocolate it is important to your health. Visit your local health food store and pick up some organic, raw chocolate today!

Carolyn Pennington is the author of this article and editor of http://www.raw-food-for-families.com Raw food for families is a web site dedicated to helping families incorporate more fresh fruits, vegetables, and living foods into their diet. Whether they eat a raw vegan diet or simply want a few tips to add more live nutrients into their existing diet they can help.

For more great recipes to enjoy raw cacao and more nutritional information please visit http://www.raw-food-for-families.com/raw-chocolate.html

Good For You Healthy Chocolate

Good for you Chocolate? Yes, there is such a thing! There is a healthy chocolate that a company has brought to the market that is, believe it or not, healthy for you.

XOCAI - THE COMPANY

Xocai is a division of MXI Corp and is located in Reno Nevada. The driving force behind the development of this healthy brand of chocolate, Xocai, and the head of MXI is Jeanette Brooks. Jeanette happens to have diabetes so therefore is quite serious about producing natural products of the highest quality.

XOCAI - THE PRODUCTS

Xocai chocolate products include: -X Powerhouse Cookie; -Chocolate Nuggets; -Protein Bars; -X Power Squares; -Xocai Activ; -Omega Bars Cacao is the main ingredient in the products listed above and Xocai uses a very unique method when preparing their products: the cacao is cold pressed instead of heated. By using this cold pressed process, the antioxidant value is retained where in heating the cacao 80% of the antioxidant value is lost. The company uses only unprocessed cacao powder, the Acai berry and blueberry in their products.

XOCAI - THE BENEFITS

Xocai chocolate products have a tremendously high ORAC value (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity). ORAC helps combat free radicals and also helps to prevent oxidative damage. The daily intake of ORAC recommended by the USDA is 3,000 to 5,000 ORAC. If you were to eat a Xocai Chocolate Nugget, you would be getting 3,120 ORAC or if you were to eat one X Power Cookie, which contains 11,115 ORAC, you would be receiving the same ORAC value as if you were to consume 3 lbs of spinach, 3 lbs of raspberries or 13 lbs of tomatoes! Flavonoids are plant based antioxidants which help the cells in our bodies fight the damage caused by free radicals and Xocia chocolate products are rich in flavonoid. For example, if you were to eat one X Power Cookie, you would have fulfilled your daily requirement of flavonoids.

XOCAI - THE DIFFERENCE

Chocolate that you would normally purchase in stores today are chocked full of processed cocoa powder, sugars, preservatives, fats & fillers. Yes these chocolates may taste good but they are horrible for your body. Now Xocai chocolate products are loaded with fiber and full of antioxidants. They are also low in fat and calories and most of Xocai chocolates are also quite suitable for vegetarians, vegans and even diabetics. Xocai chocolate consumers are reporting wonderful testimonials from drops in cholesterol and blood pressure levels to decreases in inflammation and stability with insulin levels. Not to mention, it takes great!

XOCAI - HEALTHY CHOCOLATE

Is there such a thing as Healthy Chocolate? Xocai has has done it. Trying it to see if it benefits you means you get to eat chocolate.

Click here to learn more about Healthy Chocolate

Julian Abrego is a successful entrepreneur who works with the top leaders in the home business industry. His passion is working with his team to ensure their success.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Health Benefits of Pizza

In the past it was commonly believed that pizza was not really a healthy food. Part of the reason for this is that it was put in the same group as other fast foods, such as hamburgers and fries. This is a major misconception, as pizza can actually be a highly nutritional meal.

One of the main ingredients of pizza is the tomato, which contains lycopene, a powerful antioxidant. Lycopene is known to help fight many different types of cancer. Studies have shown that people who eat pizza at least once a week were much less likely to develop colon and mouth cancer as well as stomach and lung cancer. It is known to be especially helpful in fighting prostate cancer. Studies have shown that eating pizza can lower your chance of developing esophageal cancer by nearly 59%.

It is the tomato that is the main cancer-fighting ingredient of pizza. Incredibly, studies have also shown that processed tomatoes such as those found in pizza or spaghetti sauce are actually higher in lycopene than fresh tomatoes. The reason for this is that during the process of cooking and processing the tomatoes, the water content evaporates leaving a higher concentration of the antioxidant.

Tomato sauce is extremely healthy, and for this reason so is pizza, but there are additional pizza toppings that can also enhance your health. Onions are rich in chromium, vitamin C, and fiber. They help to lower your blood sugar, cholesterol as well as blood pressure. Black olives are another great addition to pizza. Olives contain ingredients that help ward off heart disease and lower your cholesterol. The red pepper is a great pizza topping. They are sweet and tasty as well as full of Vitamin C, A, and B6.

Another health benefit of pizza is the dough. In actuality, pizza dough is another ingredient of pizza that is high in antioxidants, and through certain baking techniques the antioxidants in the dough can actually be increased.

Adding even more health benefits to pizza is simple. A vegetable pizza with just a little cheese is a very healthy food. You get the great taste and health benefits of pizza without all the extra fat and cholesterol normally associated with meats and cheese. If you are a meat fanatic and just can't handle your pizza without meat, you can always add some grilled chicken to your vegetable pizza. Chicken offers many health benefits that other meats don't, and it tastes great.

With the many health benefits of pizza, it can no longer be viewed in the same light as other fast foods.

Enjoy this article? For more pizza and pasta tips and recipes visit our Seattle Pizza Blog.

Jessica Ackerman is a senior staff writer for http://www.padrinospizzaandpasta.com - one of the best pizza places in Seattle. There are countless options for late night food delivery in Seattle but make sure to order from our pizza - Voted the best pizza in Seattle by Seattle Magazine.

Why Vitamin Water Is Presently One Very Popular Product On The Market

Some of the products Produced by Energy Brands includes, vitamin water, fresh water, fruit water and vitamin energy and these also happen to be the main products that these company produces. Virtually all of these products are made from fruit products and vitamins which are well-thought-of components when it comes to sound hydration and the proper operation of the body. The people of New York City had a water panic just before the start of the year 1920. These panic led to the establishment of this company in the mid 1920 with the intent of supplying people with clean, fit and nutritive water. The composition of the vitamin water is pretty complex, as it relies on the Vitamin B complex composite and on the antioxidant Vitamin E and C vitamins; the sweetening is crystal clear fruit sugar accomplished by citric acrid and a variety of flavors.

Its crucial to note that Vitamin water contains only distilled and deionized water enriched with a diversity of herbal extracts. Each flavored variety has a distinct vitamin and mineral structure: Thus, Tropical Citrus relies on guarani and vitamin B, Kiwi vine and Strawberry on vitamin A and lute in, whereas the Raspberry-Apple includes vitamin C and zinc. There are quite a little of other combinations each of them with a very likable title; vitamin water with names like "Revive", "Defense", "Balance", "Energy", "B-Relaxed" and so on, cannot but impact the target client with the pro-health message.

Vitamin water is currently one very popular product on the market, due to the efforts many people are Taking towards healthy sustenance and hydration habits. Nevertheless, there are several objections to the broad or exclusive use of vitamin water on a even basis. The first thing comes from the fact that there are chemical substances like the "citric acid" in the composition, which is not precisely completely innocuous and friendly for the body. Then, many people may wonder about the flavors and the color pigments of vitamin water: are they natural? Do they use herbal extracts? Another scientific regard is centralized on the use of fructose as a sweetener.

Apparently, recent studies have discovered the fact that fruit sugar is a compound that when exploited in excess can dissemble the liver function. Hence, it may be a fruit extract, but not all scientists regard it safe too. Therefore, we could decidedly say that opinions are pretty divided up when it comes to reviewing a product like vitamin water. The thing is that for many people this type of drink is the fitter option to soft drinks: there's no sugar, and the vitamin supplementation brings the rise of vigor the body needs. Consequently, it is up to each and every one of us to decide whether vitamin water works or not.

Peter Gitundu Has Been Researching and Reporting on Vitamins for Years. For More Information on Vitamin water, Visit His Site at VITAMIN WATER I Will Also Highly Appreciate Your Views On Vitamin water At My Blog here Vitamin Water

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Why Making Beer At Home Might Be A Good Idea

You have probably seen those ads in the back of magazines that provide you with everything you need to make beer at home. Perhaps you know someone who brew their own beer and thought about trying your hand at the process. The fact is that making beer is a popular pastime for many enthusiasts, and it may be a good one for you. Here are a couple of reasons why.

First, brewing your own beer can be a lot of fun. If you enjoyed science experiments in grade school or think the best Christmas present you ever received was a chemistry set, then there is a good chance that a beer kit will provide you with some of the same magic. The kits are simple step by step affairs, and not hard to set up at all. You will have a great time following along the process that leads to a batch of your own home brew. In fact, the process may prove to be just as much fun as drinking the end product with your buddies.

Next, making beer at home is a chance to come up with your own distinctive blend and flavor. After you have some experience using the kits, there is a good chance that you will begin to wonder about ways to make your home brew uniquely your own. Perhaps you can vary the amount of hops you add to the beer, or maybe add some extra ingredient that provides a distinctive flavor to the final product. Who knows? You might come up with a new recipe that will at least make you well known in the neighborhood, or possibly attract the attention of a regional brewer who would pay you good money for the rights to mass produce with the recipe. In either case, you get to enjoy yourself and your hobby.

Making beer can be a pleasant activity on a number of levels. The activity can be a great hobby that helps to minimize the effects of stress at work. There is always the chance of coming up with a tasty concoction that will make you a big hit with your friends. At the very least, you may find that you get a deep satisfaction from sipping on a brew that you made with your own hands. Why not give it a shot and see how it works out for you?

Hi, I'm Romain Levesque Author of the article and owner of the website: http://www.the-beer-meister.com

Feel free to stop by. You may republish this article as long as the resource box an live link remains. Cheers!!

How to Make Homemade Wine - Using the Right Cork for Your Bottles

Not enough has been said about how to make homemade wine that will turn out right by using the correct sort of cork to seal off the wine bottle. Actually, the type of cork you select to seal your wine bottles is of crucial importance - it can mean the difference between producing quality wine and junk.

How to Make Homemade Wine with a Quality Cork

Your local wine making store will probably sell you the "agglomerated" type of cork for your wine bottles. Agglomerated cork is cork manufactured from smaller bits of cork compressed together. It also happens to be the lowest quality of cork available for vintners to use.

If you want to use quality cork when learning how to make wine from home, then do try to get cork that has been cut out of just one piece of cork bark rather than individual bits glued together somehow. The cork that was cut out of the cork bark as one piece is the top quality cork that wineries use nowadays.

Pricing for Cork Varieties

Your run-of-the-mill agglomerated cork will sell for around 20 US cents per piece. The top-quality cork that wineries use cost about 75 US cents apiece. Though the agglomerated cork may seem like a cheaper and better option for making homemade wine, the agglomerated cork tend to induce leakage of your valuable wine, leaving the wine inside the bottle tainted by outside elements.

Why Quality Cork is Valuable for Making Homemade Wine

Wineries use the top-quality cork to cut down on any spoilage of wine. At present, around 5% of wine produced by commercial wineries is ruined by cork spoilage. This is equivalent to spoilage of one out of 20 bottles of wine.

Cork spoilage is attributed to fungus that has tainted your wine bottle cork. The prevalence of tainted cork (even those that are brand new and have never been used to bottle any wine) is the main reason that wineries have shifted to using the synthetic type of cork or the screw-top covers instead to bottle wine. You might be surprised how many top-quality wine makers are using the metal screw-tops rather than traditional cork nowadays and it is all to avoid pricey spoilage of their valuable wine.

The reason cork bark-based cork is still being used today is that it is the traditional way to seal off wine bottles, has been in use for centuries, and often looks better than synthetic cork or metal screw-tops. But there are clear advantages to switching to synthetic cork to seal off your wine bottles too.

The Advantages of Using Synthetic Cork

Synthetic cork is a good option if you want a good alternative to the traditional top-quality winery cork. There are some advantages to using synthetic cork. One is that synthetic cork is inexpensive - you can buy a bulk amount of synthetic cork of about 1000 pieces which boils down to around 20 US cents per synthetic cork. This makes it just as cheap as the agglomerated cork.

But synthetic cork is better than agglomerated cork because cork spoilage is avoided. You can stop doing those special things to avoid cork spoilage like turning empty wine bottles upside down or letting them lie down.

There is no need to keep synthetic cork wet either to use them to bottle your wine. You can keep the synthetic cork right side up instead of upside down and it can still be usable. Plus, synthetic corks are not limited by the humidity level of your storage system like cork bark-based cork is. This allows you to buy synthetic cork in bulk volume then store them for even a long time and they will still be useful for you.

The Disadvantage When Using Synthetic Cork

Though synthetic cork can be easier to use for wine bottling than traditional cork, their disadvantage is that they are hard to use with hand corkers for sealing your wine bottles. To seal the bottle properly with a synthetic cork, you have to have a floor corker around.

Problems Inherent With Use of Cork

Natural cork bark-based cork manufacturers have also invested a lot into research as to the causes of cork spoilage and how they can make traditional cork stoppers that will not cause wine spoilage - this has led wine spoilage attributed to bad cork to go down significantly. Often too, it is the winery that is at fault too because of the way they handle corks prior to stopping up the wine bottles, so wineries have to take care that corks are not tainted prior to sealing off the wine bottles.

One major flaw in traditional cork use is that you need a corkscrew or perhaps cork puller to remove the cork before the wine can be drunk. This could also be a problem with use of synthetic plastic corks. By using a corkscrew, you damage the cork often beyond the point where it can be re-used. It is embarrassing for restaurant staff to have to sieve out bits and pieces of the cork that winds up in the wine liquid just so patrons can drink it. It then becomes a problem for both staff and customer as to how the leftover wine in the bottle can be stored - should it be discarded after the wine bottle has been left open at the customer's table for hours, or can a better option for covering the bottle be created once the cork has been destroyed?

To prevent damaging the cork during the sealing off stage (after the wine has been made and you need to seal it off for storage) you should use a floor corker - preferably the type that act like an iris to compress the corker. This may be more costly than the single lever, twin lever, and compression corkers around but the iris-type is easier to use and are more precise for inserting the cork into the bottle. Hence, there is less potential damage to the cork, and less resulting damage to the wine inside.

Once corking is finished, it is advisable to let your bottles stand upright for another 24 hours so that any surplus compressed air in the wine bottle can sneak out. If you store the bottle on a rack horizontally immediately after corking, the pressure from within exerted by the surplus compressed air may even push out the cork itself and wine spills out. Once the 24 hours are over, the wine bottle can be safely stored horizontally and is even preferable because the wine touching the cork inside the bottle will prevent leaks by letting the cork stay moist.

By: Randy T. Slabey
Copyright 2008 RTS Leasing, LLC

For more free how to make wine articles and a free e-course, please visit the author's website at http://rtsleasing.com/howtomakehomemadewine/ or visit the author's forum at http://rtsleasing.com/howtomakehomemadewine/Forum.html

Should You Have Wine Or Beer After Meals?

The hypnotizing experience of wine or beer after meals is hard to be described in words, by making the right choice about the drink you can enhance your pleasure of drinking by leaps and bounds.

Most people associate wine with food than the beer, as beer is often thought of to have less value, as most of it is inexpensive, while the perception is different for wine. And many bar accessory manufacturers and owners of home bar accessories stores would vouch for the generally held view. While, this may perhaps be true in some parts of the world, all beer might not be thought of as something that's not as fine as wine.

Wine: A couple of surveys were conducted and it was found that many people opted for wine after food, perhaps because of the perception associated with it, or simply the love of the drink. Whatever the reason wine was thought to be perfect to go along with meals. So the beer seemed to have taken a hit.

Wine Glasses: It does rid the mind of effort when we decide for wine over beer and settle down with the decision, but this simply is an illusion. Once it's known which drink's to be devoured, the importance of wine accessories kick in.

The Stem: Though often neglected, it's the stem of wineglasses that holds the key to the taste. In case you choose to hold the bowl and not the stem, you run the risk of ruining its taste by passing on the body heat in to the drink. White, red or any other kind of wine begs to be held from the stem.

The Shape: It's now a well established fact, that for the most part it's the aroma that leads to and enhances the taste of wines. Just as there are different kinds of the drink so are the glasses that go hand in hand with them, a slight mismatch and you risk losing out on pleasure.

Meant for red wines the Bordoux glass is tall with a wide bowl and directs the drink to the back of the mouth. Cabernet and Merlot are two of the most suited wines for the design. Then there's the Burgundy glass that has a wider bowl to accumulate the aromas, it's great for wines such as the Pinot Noir.

Narrowness is the prime characteristic of white wineglasses, while not as slim as the champagne flutes, they feature straighter sides. Their slender design and the longer stem, both aid in keeping the wines cool.

Finer Points: Still finer intricacy of wine drinking entails not filling up the glass to the brim, rather keeping it till the broadest part of the glasses' anatomy. This allows for the aroma to concentrate at the top thus intensely appealing to the nostrils and augmenting the flavor manifold. Large glasses are often associated with fun and are simply great for red wines, whereas the smaller ones let you appreciate the finer nuances of fine wines.

Beer: Perceptually, beer might be thought of as not matching up to the finer standards of wine. However, there isn't much of a difference between the two, as both comprise alcohol. Moreover, the distinction further fades away when you make beer from quality ingredients just like you do with the wines. Additionally, if you make a wine out of low quality constituents it too might turn out to be bad.

Consider the case of craft beer, it can very well be compared to a good wine. And even the people who took the surveys didn't show much difference in their preferences when they were presented with superior beers. Similarly, exotic beers from places other than North America too present the consumer with an awesome experience, such as the Belgian sour beers with fruit added.

Beer Glasses: If you thought of beers of not being as fine as wines and that the glass you drink it in doesn't matter, then you bet you were dead wrong. Principles similar to that of drinking wine apply to beers as well. Enriching the drink's flavor by preserving the temperature and directing a deluge of ethereal aromas through to your nostrils are the two paramount considerations.

Wheat beer glasses comprising varieties such as the Pint glasses, Pilsner glasses, Beer steins are narrow in the middle and progressively broader at the top to hold rich froth and also to captivate aromas to enable a spellbinding olfaction.

While the Pints come with conical, jug and flared tops the Pilsners are created for effervescence and clarity. Flute glasses, Goblet, Snifters, Tulip glass, Stange & Becher and more types of beer glasses are all meant to squeeze out the daintiness of beers, whether common or exotic.

Finer Points: When it about beers, not just the glassware but the serving temperature and how you fill up the vessel also matter. When pouring beer it's important not to tilt the glass, rather the key is to pour it in two to three takes, and after each take wait a while till the drink settles down. This also helps to make the experience less harsh and smoother. While the chill is good, frozen beer means all you money goes down the drain as you wont get any benefit from the aromas, so mush essential to the flavor.

Wine and beer, both being alcohol, may have the benefits associated with the compound. Moderate alcohol consumption has been correlated with less risk of cardiovascular diseases and even cancer.

Surveys and tips 'n' tricks aside, what you order after meals, perhaps depends a lot on the quality of the drink. Whether it's wine or beer, your personal preferences too rule the roost. If you're confused because there are too many options, then it might be quite fruitful to seek the advice of a sommelier as they are the experts and might give you al lot more insight about the quality of the drinks that would go along with different cuisine. Whether wine or beer, to enjoy the experience is the key and if you've made the choice after giving it a thought, the pleasure of wine or beer drinking will prevail throughout the spell and afterwards.

Check more information about many bar accessory manufacturers like wine glass, owners of bar wine glass stores.

Exciting Salads - Tips And Ideas

Salads don't have to be the boring iceberg lettuce ho hum concoction. Add a little panache, a little spice, a little flair. Be creative; don't be afraid to try different things. Chop raw vegetables; add different spices and various vinegars and dressings. Pick up a salad book and see all the possibilities. There are numerous books out there that will tell you how to make creative salads that are filling, satisfying, fun and might even help you lose weight. You can pretty much just look through your pantry and fridge, grab whatever catches your eye and throw it all together!

Greens

Don't limit yourself to iceberg lettuce. There are so many other exciting and delicious greens out there! Baby spinach, heart of Romaine and dandelion leaves all make great greens for your salad. You can even throw several different types of greens together to make an awesome salad. Check your local farmer's market or the produce section of your local grocery store and browse the selections available.

Vegetables

Vegetables are great in salads. Throw in some raw squash, zucchini, onion, garlic, bell pepper and carrots and you will have an awesome salad. You can also roast the vegetables with some seasoning and toss them in with some greens or pasta. Jicama is also a great addition to a salad. Similar to a turnip, a jicama is large, crisp and sweet. Cube it or slice it and add it to your salad for a healthy, low fat, crunchy kick!

Meat

Meat is often added to salads. While bacon bits are probably the most popular, it isn't necessarily the healthiest. Try poached, chopped chicken or fish to your salads. You can also drain and rinse a can of tuna and add that to your salad with a little lemon pepper and vinegar. Shrimp and crab also pack a nice punch of protein to your salads. Ham is also good, but it can be high in sodium. Season your chicken or fish well and toss it with your greens and vegetables.

Pasta

Pasta can turn a salad into a meal. Fettuccini, spaghetti, angel hair pasta, rotini and other pastas are all wonderful for pasta salads. The great thing about pasta salad is that it can be served hot or cold. You can toss it with some vegetables, meats, cheese and whatever else strikes your fancy. Sauté your vegetables in a little olive oil and add some basil and sea salt. Once your vegetables are tender, toss them with the pasta. The olive oil sticks to the pasta (don't rinse the pasta in cold water, warm pasta holds the oil and seasonings better) and blends all the flavors. You can also cook your pasta and roast your vegetables then mix well.

Dressings

Regular bottle dressings are OK, but there is a whole world out there of vinegars and concoctions that you can make yourself. Try drizzling a little raspberry balsamic vinegar over raw, chopped vegetables. Some apple cider vinegar, mixed with a little cold-pressed olive oil, garlic and the seasonings of your choice can make an awesome dressing. Think about the flavors that you like, the spices that you enjoy. Do you like basil? It makes a great dressing if you use some olive oil and rice wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar. For an added kick, splash in some white wine or red wine. Just play with it and see what flavors turn you on!

Eating enough greens in your diet can really boost your immune system and overall energy, as well as help you to maintain a healthy body shape.

Spencer Hunt is a glyconutrients consultant who helps his clients to buy glyconutrients supplements at an affordable price so that they can stay on the product long enough to see real results, such as an energy boost and an immune system boost.